;m^»?i^iinj; 


DEC8  iy/1 


BX  9178  .G73  D5  1822 
Green,  Ashbel,  1762-1848. 
Discourses,  delivered  in  th^ 
College  of  New  Jersey     | 


't  ■ 

DISCOURSES, 


DELIYEBBD  IN  THE 


COLLEGE  OF  NEW  JERSEY;      * 


ADDRESSED  CHIEFLY  TO 


CANDIDATES  FOR  THE  FIRST  DEGREE  IN  THE  ARTS; 


WITH 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


INCtUDIXG 


A  HISTORICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE  COLLEGE, 


FROM  ITS  ORIGIK  TO  THE 


ACCESSION  OF  PRESIDENT  WITHERSPOON. 


BY  ASHBEL  GREEN,  D.D.  LL.D. 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 


-     PUBLISHED  BY 
•  E.  LITTELL, 

88  Chestnut  Sti-eet,  Philadelplua—\Narren  Street,  Trenton;  and 

R.  XORRIS  HENRY, 

129  Broadway,  New  York. 

flu  GEO  :  SHERMAX,  PIUNT.  TREKTON. 

1822. 


JiASTEBK  DlSTBICT  OF  PeNKSTLVAKIA,  to  wit: 

BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  thu-d  day  of  July,  i^  the 
r********l  forty-sixth  year  of  the  independence  of  tlie  Umted  States  of 
♦  SEAL.  *  America,  A.  D.  1822,  Eliakim  Littell,  ot  the  said  District, 
:*******«**  hath  deposited  in  this  office  the  title  oi  a  Jook,  the  right  where- 

of  he  claims  as  proprietor  in  the  words  foll«;^'i"&';\--^V~tn  rSaS  for" 
« Uvered  in  the  CoUege  of  New  Jersey;  addressed  chiefly  to  Candidates  tor 
^STe  first  degree  in  tL  Arts:  with  Notes  and  mustrations,  -elf  ng  a  H^^^^ 
«.torical  Sketch  of  the  College,  from  its  origjn  to  the  acces  ion  of  Pre^dent 
"Witherspoon.  By  Ashbel  Green,  D.  D.  LL.D.  Pres'dentof  the  CoUege. 
In  c^nforr^ity  to  th'e  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  ^^^l^^^-Jf^'lf^^^ 
Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  Learning,  by  secimng  the  ^oPf^^^.  ^P'^ 
Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and  proprietors  ot  such  ^OP'^^'/'^"^^^  ^^^^ 

^yT:^rS;^tfo;:^^^^^^^^^  and  Books,  -'--^JLTeX 

prietors  of^uch  copies  during  the  times  therein  "^.^'^^^^^f '  ^^ J'^  '"S 
Sie  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  desigmng,  engravmg,  and  etching  histoncal 

and  other  prints."  ^    CALDWELL, 

Clerk  of  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvama. 


TO  THE 


GRADUATES 


AND 


STUDENTS 


OF  THE 


COLLEGE  OF  NEW-JEESEY, 


THIS  VOLUME 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  AND  AFFECTIONATELY 
INSCRIBED, 

BY 

THE  ATTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


IT  has  been  the  usasre  of  tlie  College  of  New- 
Jersey,  ever  since  its  foundation,  for  the  Presi- 
dent, on  the  Sahhatli  preceding  the  annual  Com- 
mencement, to  preach  a  sermon,  or  make  a  par- 
ticular address,  to  the  candidates  for  the  Bach- 
elor's degree.  Tliis  laudahle  usage  gave  occasion 
to  the  first  six  discourses,  in  the  present  volume: 
the  last  three  were  delivered  at  other  times, 
but  with  much  the  same  view  as  those  which 
precede  them. 

It  is  difficult  to  speak  frequently  and  appro- 
priately on  the  same  subject,  or  occasion,  with- 
out a  degree  of  repetition — a  difficulty  which  the 
author  has  very  sensibly  experienced.  He  could 
not,  indeed,  discharge  his  duty,  without  inculcat- 
ing on  each  class,  when  departing  from  his  care 
forever,  a  number  of  the  same  leading  ideas. 
He  might,  and  did,  endeavour  to  vary  his  topicks 


vi  PREFACE. 

as  much  as  he  could,  and  to  make  that  the  prin- 
cipal point  in  one  discourse,  wliich  was  inciden- 
tal or  subordinate  in  another;  yet,  after  all,  a 
considerable  degree  of  sameness  was  not  to  be 
avoided.  This  sameness,  too,  it  v/as  manifest, 
would  become  much  more  apparent,  if  the  dis- 
courses should  be  printed  and  collected  into  a 
volume,  than  it  had  been  when  they  were  deliv- 
ered separately,  at  the  distance  of  a  year  from 
each  other. 

That  these  considerations  have  not  restrained 
the  author  from  the  publication  of  his  discourses, 
the  reader  perceives  by  the  volume  before  him. 
It  was  believed  that  the  candid  would  duly  ap- 
preciate what  has  now  been  suggested;  would 
recollect  that  the  design  of  a  discourse  and  the 
circumstances  which  attended  its  delivery,  ought 
always  to  be  kept  in  view,  in  judging  of  its  mer- 
its or  defects.  But  the  principal  inducement,  if 
the  author  is  not  deceived,  which  led  to  this  pub- 
lication, was  the  hope  that,  with  all  its  imper- 
fections, it  might  do  some  good — especially  to 


PREFACE.  vii 

the  youth  to  >vhom  the  discourses  were  first  ad- 
dressed, and  who  have  since  been  >videly  scat- 
tered over  our  countrv.  Throu":h  the  medium  of 
the  press,  these  youth,  it  was  thought,  might  be 

addressed  again,  and  possibly  with  more  efiect 
than  when  they  cursorily  heard  from  the  lips  of 

the  speaker,  what  they  might  thus  deliberately 

peruse  and  consider.    It  also  occurred,  that  the 

most  of  the  discourses  were  applicable  to  youth 

of  all  descriptions,  and  much  in  all  of  tlieni,  to 

readers  of  every  class  and  age.    And  if,  under 

the  blessing  of  God,  which  the  author  earnestly 

implores,  it  shall  be  found  that  the  reading  of 

these  discourses  has  done  good  to  souls — or  to 
a  single  soul — the  manner  in  which  the  publi- 
cation of  them  may  affect  his  own  reputation, 
ought  to  be,  and  he  trusts  Avill  be,  a  matter  of 
no  great  concern. 

The  Notes  and  Illustrations  will,  perhaps, 
prove  more  interesting  to  some  readers,  than 
the  discourses.  In  tlie  historical  sketch  of  the 
College,  and  the  biographical  notice  of  the  first 


A 


viii  PREFACE. 

five  presidents,  the  author  has  taken  great  pains 
to  be  correct  in  his  statement  of  facts.  He  is 
aware,  however,  that,  after  all  his  vigilance  to 
exclude  errors,  some  may  still  be  found;  and  he 
will  accept  it  as  a  particular  favour,  if  any  read- 
er who  may  observe  an  error,  however  minute, 
will  make  it  known  to  him  by  letter;  that  it  may 
be  corrected,  if  the  history  should  ever  be  re- 
published. 


CONTENTS. 


DISCOURSE  I. 

The  Union  of  Piety  and  Science. 
ACTS  VII.  22. 

And  Moses  ivas  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  EgyfitianSf  and 
was  mighty  in  words  and  in  deeds. 

CONNKCTED   WITH 

ACTS  XXII.  3. 

I  am  verily  a  man  which  am  a  Jew,  born  in  Tarsus,  a  city   of 
Cilicia  ;  yet  brought  up,  in  this  city,  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel — 

DISCOURSE  II. 

God  acknowledged  directing  the  path  of  duty. 
PROV.  III.  6. 
In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him,  and  he    shall    direct    thy 

paths. 

DISCOURSE  III. 

The  good  man's  protection  and  support. 
I.  PETER  III.  13.  14. 

And  who  is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye  be  followers  of  that 
which  is  good  ?  Bat  and  if  ye  suffer  for  righteousness*  sake,  hap- 
py  are  ye. 

DISCOURSES  IV.  AND  V. 

The  word  of  God  the  guide  of  youth. 

PSALM  CXIX.  9. 

frhereivithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?    By  taking 
heed  thereto  according  to  thy  word  ? 


X  CONTENTS. 

DISCOURSE  VI. 

ChRISTXAN  integrity  EXPLAI2JED  AND  RECOMMEKDKD. 

n.  CORINTHIANS  I.  12. 
For  our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  (estimcny  of  our  conscience,  that  in 
eimplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not  iviih  Jieshly  wisdom,  but  by 
the  grace  of  God,  we  have  had  our  conversation  in  the  tvorldt 
and  more  abundantly  to  you-vj>ard* 

DISCOURSE  VII. 

A  PLEA  FOR  EARLY  PIETY. 

ECCLESIASTES  XII.  1. 
Remember  now  thy  Creator,  in  the  days  of  thy  youth. 

DISCOURSE  VIII. 

The  man  of  false  honour- 
MARK  VI.  26. 
jind  the   king  was  exceeding  sorry  ;  yet  for  his  oaths*  sake,  and 
for  their  sokes  who  sat  with  him,  he  would  tiot  reject  her, 

DISCOURSE  IX. 

The  pEvouT  man. 

ACTS  X.  2, 

^devout  man^— 


KOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


NOTE  A. 

Quotation  from  Longinus,  relative  to  the  Apostle  Paul. 

NOTE  B. 

Notice  of  a  publication  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  the 
first  president  of  the  college. 

NOTE  C. 

Sketch  of  the  life  and  character  of  Governor  Belcher,  the  foun- 
der of  the  college — ^l^he  addresses  made  to  him  by  the  board  of  trus- 
tees ;  their  early  transactions  relati\e  to  the  college ;  and  tlieir  de- 
termination that  the  edifice  should  be  called  Nassau-Hall.  The 
patronage  v,'hi<ih  the  college  has  received,  and  its  need  of  additional 
patronage.. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

NOTE  D. 

A  historical  sketch  of  the  origin  and  design  of  the  college;  its  sys- 
tem of  education ;  a  biographical  notice  of  its  first  five  presidents  ; 
and  a  short  accaunt  of  the  institution  under  their  several  administra- 
tions; epitaphs,  circular  letters,  present  course  of  study,  and  amount 
of  expense  per  annum,  of  a  resident  in  college. 

NOTE  E. 

Dr.  Arbuthnot's  epitaph  on  Francis  Chartres. 

NOTE  F. 

Recommendation  of  Dr.  \Vitherspoon*s  "address  to  tlic  senior 
class,  on  the  Lord's  day  preceding  commencement.'* 

NOTE  G. 

On  the  reading  of  the  ancient  classick  writers,  and  the  best  method 
of  preventing  any  ill  effects  -svhich  may  be  apprehended  from  ^a 
familiarity  with  them. 

NOTE  G.  [duplicate.] 
Extract  from  the  American  edition  of  Rees'  Cyclopedia;  rela- 
tive to  the  manner  in  which  certain  Socinian  writers  treat  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  the  doctrines  they  contain. 

NOTE  H. 

A  memorial  of  the  author's  deceased  Son. 


-^HIITCHTOIT 


% 


4 


DISCOURSE  I. 


TFIE  UNION  OF  PIETY  AND  SCIENCE. 


ACTS  VII.  22. 

''  And  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, and  was  mighty  in  words  and  in  deedsP 

CONNECTED    WITH 

ACTS  XXII.  3. 

^^  I  am  verily  a  man  which  am  a  Jew^  born  in  Tarsus, 
a  city  of  Cilicia  ;    yet  brought  up  in  this  city,  at  the 
feet  of  GamalieP^ — 

_|  HESE  passages  of  scripture,  my  brethren,  have  been 
chosen  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  and  ilhistrating 
a  point,  previously  determined  on  as  the  subject  of  this 
discourse — namely — the    importance    of  the  union 

OF  PIETY  AND  SCIENCE. 

The  institution  to  which  we  belong  was  founded  to 
promote  this  union.  To  inculcate  its  importance,  there- 
fore, appeared  to  me  a  very  fit  subject  for  the  present 
occasion  :  and  the  passages  of  scripture  recited,  seem 
to  present  the  [;igiat  which  I  am  to  press,  in  a  manner 

B 


g  DISCOURSE  L 

highly  favoiiral  le  to  my  purpose.  They  s^rve  to  show 
that  the  great  legislator  of  the  Jews,  and  the  great 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  were  both  eminent  for  the 
union  of  piety  and  science. 

For  piety,  even  among  inspired  men,  they  were  cer- 
tainly eminent.  Moses  is  denominated,  by  v/ay  of  em- 
phasis, "  the  man  of  GOD."  We  are  told  that  "  the 
Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketk 
unto  his  friend ;"  and  that  "  there  arose  not  a  prophet 
since  in  Israel,  like  unto  Moses,  whom  the  Lord  knew 
face  to  face.'^  His  whole  history  shows,  that  his  inter- 
course with  GOD,  his  devotion  to  the  divine  glory,  and 
his  benevolence  to  the  children  of  his  people,  were  of 
the  most  extraordinary  kind  ;  and  of  course,  that  his 
measure  of  sanctification  was  peculiarly  great. 

This  holy  man  was,  at  the  same  time,  a  distinguished 
proficient  in  all  the  learning  of  his  day.  Educated  as 
the  son  of  Pharoah's  daughter,  he  would  of  course  have 
the  advantage  of  the  best  schools  of  Egypt^  then  the 
most  distinguished  seat  of  science  in  the  world :  and 
the  singulcT  attainments  which  he  made  in  these  schools 
is  attested  in  the  text,  which  tells  us  that  "  Moses  was 
learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians'' — Whatever 
they  could  teach,  he  had  learned.  It  is  added,  that  he 
was  "  mighty  in  words  and  in  deeds.''  Though  not  an 
eloquent  speaker,  yet  his  words,  as  well  as  his  deeds 
were  mighty.  No  doubt  the  substance  of  what  he  said 
is  here,  as  it  always  ought  to  be,  chiefly  regarded.     Yet 


DISCOURSE  I.  3 

the  criticks  in  the  Hebrew  language  tell  us,  that  his 
Tery  style  is  characterized  by  its  peculiar  purity  and 
excellence  :  and  many  of  you  know  that  he  is  quoted 
as  au  example  of  the  sublime  in  writing,  by  Longiuus, 
whose  judgment  on  this  subject  has  so  long  been  consid- 
ered as  a  standard.  Such  then  was  Moses — eminently 
holy,  and  eminetitly  learned.  Such  was  the  man  honour- 
ed of  GOD  to  deliver  his  chosen  people  from  bondage, 
to  receive  his  law  at  Sinai,  to  establish  t'  e  religious  in- 
stitutions and  found  the  civil  government  of  the  Hebrew 
nation. 

Of  the  distinguished  piety  of  the  apostle  Paul — dis- 
tinguished, you  will  remember,  an\ong  inspired  men,  fjr 
otliers  are  not  to  cl  im  even  a  comparison  here — it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  speak.  He  h^id  been  -^  caught  up 
to  the  third  heaven — caught  up  into  paradise — and 
heard  unspeakable  words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a 
man  to  utter.''  He  seemed  indeed  to  live  in  heaven, 
while  yet  on  earth.  His  whole  soul,  with  all  its  enlarg- 
ed faculties,  was  incessantly  on  the  stretch,  in  contem- 
pl  ting,  admiring,  and  describing  the  wonders  of  the 
plan  of  redemption ;  and  in  devising  and  executinf^" 
scliemes  for  extending  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  and  pro- 
moting tlie  glory  of  (iOD  on  earth.  He  laboured  more 
abundantly  in  his  Master's  cause,  than  any  of  the  other 
apostles.  He  ''counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  himself,'^ 
if  he  might  finish  his  ministerial  course  with  joy. 

While  lie  earnestly  desired  ^*  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ;"  as  "  far  better"  than  continuing  iu  this  world^ 


4  DISCOURSE  I. 

he  was  still  willing  to  continue ; — to  endure  every  pri- 
vation^ to  suffer,  and  labour,  and  be  persecuted,  and 
reviled,  and  to  seal  his  testimony  with  his  blood,  that  he 
might  propagate  the  gospel,  do  good  to  souls,  and  mag- 
nify his  Saviour's  love.  Yet  this  man,  who  "  was  not 
a  whit  behind  the  very  chiefest  apostles,"  esteemed  him- 
self the  chief  of  sinners,  "  less  than  the  least  of  all 
saints,  and  not  meet  to  be  called  an  apostle."  By  this 
deep  humility  he  rose  high  in  the  school  of  Christ. 
Verily,  it  seems  that  one  who  could  be  what  Paul  was, 
and  yet  estimate  himself  as  he  did,  must  be  as  deeply 
sanctified  as  any  of  the  corrupted  race  of  Adam  ever  was. 
This  man  had  been  sent  from  his  native  city  to  Jeru- 
salem, for  his  education  ;  had  been  "  brought  up  at  the 
feet  of  Gamaliel,"  then  the  most  renowned  Jewish  doc- 
tor;  aud  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that,  as  '^he 
profited  beyond  many  his  equals"  in  years,  in  the  Jew-* 
ish  religion,  so  that  he  surpassed  them,  also,  in  Jewish 
erudition.  But  beside  this,  his  quoting  of  the  Greek 
poets ;  his  allusion  to  their  philosophers  and  their  doc- 
trines ;  his  masterly  treatment  of  every  subject ;  his 
close  and  profound  reasoning  ;  his  simple  and  touching 
eloquence  ;  his  sublime  descriptions  and  pathetic  senti- 
ments ;  all  mark  the  superiority  of  his  genius,  and  the 
extent  and  variety  of  his  knowledge.  Accordingly  we 
find — and  it  is  worthy  of  remark — that  the  same  ancient 
heathen  critick,  who  mentions  Moses  among  the  authors 
of  the  sublime  in  writing,  places  Paul  in  the  same  class.* 

•  See  note  A  at  the  end  of  the  Yolumc. 


DISCOURSE  T.  5 

Siicli  then  was  the  apostle  Paul — eminent  for  piety, 
and  eminent  for  learning.  And  his  success  in  spreading 
the  gospel  was,  prohably,  greater  than  that  of  all  the 
other  apostles  united.  He  was  honoured,  too,  to  write 
a  far  larger  portion,  than  any  other  individual,  of  the 
New-Testament.  Neaily  a  third  part  of  tiie  whole 
came,  under  the  guidance  of  inspiration,  from  his  pen. 

To  demonstrate,  as  it  would  seem,  that  the  power  was 
all  of  GOD,  our  Saviour  chose  his  first  twelve  apostles 
from  illiterate  men,  that  there  might  be  no  pretence  that 
human  talents  or  acquirements  had  procured  for  it  its 
first  acceptance  :  and  then,  to  honour  the  established 
order  of  nature,  which  is  nothing  else  than  his  own  or- 
der, he  chose  one  man,  possessing  the  best  endowments 
and  attainments,  and  him  he  used  to  extend  his  kingdom 
and  his  triumphs,  more,  it  is  probable,  than  all  the  rest. 

It  is  apparent  then,  that  both  in  founding  the  Jewish 
state,  and  in  establishing  the  Christian  church,  the  in- 
strumentality chiefly  employed  and  honoured,  was  the 
instrumentality  of  men  conspicuous  for  the  union  of  pie- 
ty and  science.  Moses,  the  man  of  GOD,  was  *' learned 
in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians."  Paul,  the  great 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  '•  was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of 
Gamaliel.'' 

Now,  as  the  Deity  always  adapts  means  to  ends  with 
infinite  wisdom,  and  we  here  see  what  were  the  instru- 
ments which  he  actually  employed,  when  the  greatest 


6  DISCOURSE  T. 

ends  were  to  be  effected  under  bis  immediate  appoint- 
ment and  guidance,  it  is  manifest  that  tbe  high  import* 
ance,  both  to  church  and  state,  of  the  union  of  piety  and 
science,  is  vouched  and  ratified  by  divine  authority. 

Let  us  then  consider,  a  little  in  detail,  some  of  the 
facts  and  principles,  by  which  the  importance  of  this 
union  may  be  illustrated  and  enforced. 

L  It  is  this  union  which  perfects,  as  fiir  as  it  can  be 
perfected  in  this  world,  the  nature  of  man. 

The  two  great  classes  of  mental  powers  are,  the  intel- 
lectual  and  moral.  In  the  primitive  perfect  state  of 
man,  these  different  faculties  were  duly  balanced,  and 
had  that  just  and  mutual  influence  on  each  other  which 
was  calculated  to  raise  our  nature  to  its  highest  point  of 
elevation,  in  the  scale  of  intelligent  being. 

We  know  from  the  temptation  which  prompted  the 
iirst  transgression,  that  the  desire  of  knowledge  w'as  then 
strong.  We  also  know,  that  while  man  retained  his  per- 
fection of  rectitude,  all  his  knowledge  mu^t  have  been 
subservient  to  moral  use  and  improvement.  It  fol- 
lows, necessarily,  that  the  more  he  knew,  the  more  ex- 
tensively would  he  be  prepared  to  serve  and  glorify  his 
Creator,  and  would  not  fciil,  from  his  perfect  holiness,  to 
employ  all  his  knowledge  for  this  high  purpose.  The 
complete  reverse  of  this  is  now  witnessed.  Man  has 
lost  by  his  fall  the  moral  image  of  his  Creator,  while  he 
has  retained,  if  not  perfectly,  yet  in  great  vigour,  his 
intellectual  powers.     Hence  those  powers  are  eonietimes 


DISCOURSE  I.  7 

seen  in  much  strcngtii  and  with  great  improvement, 
while  he  remains  destitute  of  all  moral  excellence. 
Men  have  occasionally  appeared,  who  seemed  to  pos- 
sess, at  once,  the  talents  and  the  depravity  of  demons. 
On  the  other  side,  unquestionable  goodness  has  some- 
times been  seen,  in  alliance  with  great  weakness,  and 
great  ignorance. 

But,  let  it  be  well  observed,  when  eminent  piety  and 
eminent  knov^lcdge  are  conjoined  in  the  same  individ- 
ual, then  the  right  balance,  proportion  and  order  of 
the  human  faculties  are  restored  ;  then  man  regains 
the  true  elevation  of  his  character ;  then  he  is,  in  the 
exact  degree  in  which  this  union  takes  place,  brought 
back  to  the  very  state  which  he  lost  by  the  fall.  And 
as  this  is  the  fact,  in  regard  to  individuals,  so  it  fol- 
lows, since  societies  are  made  up  of  individuals,  that 
whenever  a  society  is  composed  of  those  who  possess 
this  character,  and  just  in  proportion  as  it  is  composed 
of  them,  it  becomes  truly  excellent.  It  exhibits  man,  in 
his  social  character,  amiable  and  dignified.  It  renders 
communities  eminently  happy  and  respectable.  It  gives 
them  an  approximation — very  imperfect  indeed,  but 
still  most  desirable — to  the  perfect  society  of  heaven ; 
where  intelligence  and  holiness  are  united,  in  the  most 
consummate  degree. 

The  statement  just  oflered  seemed  too  important  not 
to  be  made  prominent,  by  a  distinct  presentment.  It 
includes,  I  am  sensible,  a  part  of  what  I  am  now  more 
particularly  to  explain — 


^  DISCOURSE  I. 

II.  That  tlie  union  of  piety  and  science  is  calculated 
to  preserve  each  from  abuse^  and  to  carry  each  to  its 
highest  point  of  improvement. 

Piety,  enlightened  by  science,  is  not  only  most  likely 
to  be  preserved  from  that  superstition  and  enthusiasm, 
into  which,  alas !  ignorant  piety  often  runs ;  but  its 
sphere  of  action  is  greatly  enlarged  ;  its  incitements  and 
its  resources  are  multiplied.  It  is  of  the  nature  of  all 
genuine  piety  to  turn  every  thing  to  its  own  improve- 
ment ;  to  make  every  object  and  subject  minister  to  se- 
rious reflection,  and  the  devout  feelings  of  the  heart ;  to 
see  the  displays  of  the  divine  perfections  in  all  which  it 
views  of  great,  or  wise,  or  good  ;  to  rise  from  the  crea- 
ture to  the  Creator — "  to  look  through  nature  up  to 
nature's  GOD.'' 

In  particular,  the  well  informed  man  of  piety  acquires 
a  more  exact  and  extensive  knowledge  of  revealed  truth, 
than,  without  science,  can  ordinarily  be  obtained  ;  and 
thus  increases,  at  once,  the  scope,  the  motives,  and  the 
facilities  for  improvement  in  holiness.  Science,  also, 
sanctified  by  divine  grace,  aids  its  possessor  in  acquiring 
the  most  thorough  knowledge  of  his  own  nature  and 
heart ;  and  from  this  circumstance,  is  favourable  to  the 
cultivation  of  inward  purity,  and  of  that  profound  humili- 
ty, which  is  so  characteristic  a  feature  of  evangelical  re- 
ligion. In  fact  the  brightest  examples  of  piety — of  hum- 
ble piety — hav«  been  found  in  men  of  considerable  sci- 
ence. It  is  even,  I  believe,  a  general  truth,  that  the 
humblest  christians  are  those  who  are  the  best  informed. 


DISCOURSE  I.  9 

Nor  can  I  here  forbear  the  remark,  that  the  cliristian 
religion  itself  supposes  a  degree  of  knowledge,  in  order 
to  its  general  reception  and  prevalence.  It,  indeed, 
provides  for  weakness,  for  ignorance,  and  almost  for 
idiocy.  But  in  its  establishment  in  society,  it  is  not,  like 
the  systems  of  paganism  and  idolatry,  a  system  that  w  ill 
consist  with  deep  and  general  ignorance,  and  be  favoured 
by  it.  You  cannot  propagate  and  preserve  Christianity, 
in  any  community,  without  propagating  knowledge  at  the 
same  time.  You  must  have  a  measure  of  civilization  and 
a  measure  of  mental  improvement,  among  every  people 
where  you  can  reasonably  hope  that  Christianity  will 
be  permanent.  The  genius  of  the  religion  itself,  its  very 
nature  and  essence,  demand  this,  for  its  preservation 
and  extension :  and  its  doing  so,  is  among  the  eviden- 
ces that  it  is  from  GOD,  who  gave  us  the  nature  which 
his  religion  will,  in  all  cases  and  in  all  respects,  im- 
prove. 

Let  us  now  view  the  other  side  of  the  subject ;  and 
we  shall  see  that  the  service  which  religion  renders  to 
science  is  not  less  than  that  which  she  receives  from  it. 

Science  perverted  may  do,  and  has  actually  done,  more 

injury  to  mankind  in  all  their  interests,  religious,  social 

and  political,  than  can  be  described  or  estimated.     In 

every  age   of  the   christian  church,  scientific  infidels 

have  been  her  bitterest  enemies,  and  have  aimed  against 

her  the  most  envenomed  and  deadly  weapons.     Their 

success   at  different  times  has  been  considerable ;  but 

in  no  other  age,  I  think,  w^as  it  ever  as  great  as  it  has 

C 


10  DISCOURSE  L 

beeu  in  the  very  age  in  which  we  live.  Of  this  age,  un- 
sanctified  science  has  been  preeminently,  the  scourge  and 
curse.  This  it  was,  undoubtedly,  which  converted  the 
most  populous  nation  of  Europe,  for  a  season,  into  a  nation 
of  professed  infidels  and  atheists  ;  and  which  spread  the 
deleterious  influence  of  their  shocking  system,  in  a  great- 
er or  less  degree,  over  a  large  part  of  the  civilized  world. 
The  natural  and  unavoidable  consequences  ensued.  As 
civil  society  is  held  together  by  religion,  when  this  ce- 
ment was  removed,  it  tottered  to  its  foundations.  The 
prostration  of  altars  w^as  succeeded  by  the  fall  of  thrones. 
The  human  mind  itself  was  unbalanced  and  perverted. 
Men  seemed  to  act,  at  that  time,  as  men  never  acted 
before.  The  usual  grounds  of  calculation,  in  regard  to 
human  conduct,  appeared  to  be  taken  away.  Both  the 
moral  and  the  political  world  were  convulsed  and  con- 
fused. Such  was  the  effect  of  infidel  philosophy,  when 
it  gained  the  ascendant.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say, 
that  all  the  massacre,  carnage,  convulsion,  disorder  and 
misrule,  all  the  misery,  moral  and  political,  which  has 
overspread  and  changed  the  face  of  Europe  in  our  times, 
may  be  traced  to  unsanctified  science  as  its  proper 
origin;  to  the  learning,  the  eloquence,  the  sophistry, 
the  wit,  the  plots  and  the  influence  of  infidels,  playing 
the  mighty  engine  of  mental  energy  with  strokes  power- 
ful, frequent,  and  directed  with  consummate  skill,  against 
all  the  sacred  bulwarks  of  religion  and  morality. 

I  cannot  pass  from  this  topic  without  remarking,  that 
it  would  seem  to  be  a  part  of  the  scheme  of  providence. 


DISCOURSE  I.  11 

(for  we  pretend  not  to  fathom  its  depths)  to  show,  by 
what  took  place  in  the  dark  ages  of  the  church,  the  ef- 
fect of  religion  without  knowledge ;  and  in  contrast  with 
this,  to  show,  by  what  has  taken  place  in  this  infidel  age, 
and  in  the  very  same  countries,  the  effect  of  science 
without  religion  ;  and  thus  to  teach  the  world  most  im- 
pressively and  extensively,  that  these  two  great  direct- 
ors of  human  conduct  should  always  take  counsel  of  each 
other ;  that  they  can  never  act  separately  without  pro- 
ducing the  most  lamentable  evils ;  and,  therefore,  that 
every  lover  of  mankind  should  earnestly  endeavour  to 
preserve  their  union  : — To  teach,  especially,  that  such 
is  human  depravity,  that  it  will  pervert  knowledge  it- 
self, favourable  as  it  is  to  virtue  ;  and  that  man,  desti- 
tute of  religion  and  distinguished  by  science,  may  rival 
a  fallen  angel  in  malignity  and  mischief. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  ^^  bad  eminence"  to  which 
unsanctified  science  may  thus  sometimes  rise,  it  is  still 
a  general  and  most  important  truth,  that  nothing  is 
so  favourable  to  scientific  pursuits,  as  that  calm 
and  tranquil  state  of  mind,  and  that  exemption  from 
vicious  courses  and  passions,  which  true  religion  in- 
spires and  insures.  Accordingly  we  see  in  fact,  that 
though  there  have  been,  as  we  admit  and  lament, 
impious  men  of  great  literary  attainments,  yet  the 
remotest  regions  of  science  have  oftenest  been  reached 
by  those  who  were  religious  as  well  as  learned.  Beyond 
all  controversy,  religion  here  may  claim  the  palm. 
When  we  come  to  reckon  up  those  who  have  stood  in 


12  DISCOURSE  I. 

the  very  first  ranks  of  genius  and  science,  in  every  age 
of  the  christian  church,  by  far  the  majority  will  be  found 
among  the  friends  of  religion  ;  many  of  them  among  its 
brightest  examples  and  most  ardent  propagators. 

It  deserves  particular  notice  that  religion  favours  the 
acquisition  of  the  most  solid  and  useful  knowledge,  by 
preserving  men  from  the  love  and  cultivation  of  ^'  sci- 
ence falsely  so  called.'^  Of  trifling,  and  merely  curi- 
ous speculations,  it  forbids  all  ardent  pursuit.  It 
permits  no  more  of  them  to  be  known,  than  is  suffi- 
cient to  expose  their  vanity.  It  represents  true  phi- 
losophy herself,  only  as  a  handmaid  to  devotion.  It 
places  every  thing  on  a  right  scale  of  estimation.  It 
teaches  its  pupil  to  consider  every  thing  as  subordinate 
and  subservient  to  moral  improvement.  It  pronounces 
accursed,  every  subject  and  every  pursuit,  which  is  in- 
consistent with  christian  purity.  It  leaves  not  its  pos- 
sessor to  the  mere  force  of  inclination ;  but  urges  him, 
and  that  incessantly,  by  the  strongest  sense  of  duty,  to 
press  forward  in  every  praiseworthy  attainment ;  always 
to  seek  most  earnestly  those  things  which  are  the  most 
valuable,  and  which  may  best  promote,  either  mediately 
or  directly,  the  glory  of  GOD,  and  the  good  of  his  crea- 
tures. 

III.  The  union  of  piety  and  science,  happily  enables 
those  in  whom  it  is  realized,  to  correct  the  errors,  and 
prevent  the  mischiefs^  of  those  in  whom  this  union  does 
not  take  place. 


DISCOURSE  L  13 

Pious  men,  without  learning,  know  that  learning  is 
too  often  possessed  without  piety ;  and  as  mankind  are 
extremely  apt  to  undervalue,  or  to  affect  to  despise, 
what  is  not  among  their  own  acquisitions,  learning  itself 
is  frequently  depreciated,  even  by  good  people  who 
have  never  acquired  it ;  especially  if  they  have  become, 
in  any  degree,  the  leaders  of  others.  They  are  jealous 
of  leai'ned  men;  jealous  of  their  superiority;  jealous 
exceedingly  that  they  are  not  real  friends  to  religion ; 
and  jealous,  above  all,  that  these  men  will  not  be  the 
patrons  of  some  fond  notions  of  their  own.  But  if 
a  man  of  learning  appears  who  is  confessedly  and 
eminently  pious  ;  who,  it  is  acknowledged  by  all, 
considers  religion  as  superior  to  learning  itself — 
superior  to  every  earthly  object  and  consideration; 
whose  holy  life  and  ardent  labours  in  the  cause  of 
Christ  have  put  him  above  all  suspicion ;  this  mafi  they 
will  hear ;  to  him  they  will  listen ;  to  him  they  will  grant 
their  confidence  :  he  can  manage  them  ;  he  can  correct 
their  errors,  reform  their  extravagances,  and  persuade 
them  to  yield  to  reason  and  receive  instruction.  In  a 
word,  if  they  have  not  become  lost  in  fanaticism,  he 
can  form  them  to  just  views  and  conduct,  in  regard 
to  religion :  And  as  only  such  a  man  can  produce 
this  effect ;  so,  to  be  capable  of  producing  it — to  be  ca- 
pable of  preventing  or  arresting  such  a  deluge  of  evils 
as  often  springs  from  enthusiasm,  deserves  to  be  esteem- 
ed among  the  best  and  highest  of  human  attainments. 
Of  these  attainments  our  own  Dickinson  and  Edwards* 

•  See  Note  B  at  tUe  end  ef  the  Tolurtif. 


14  DISCOURSE  I. 

were  illustrious  examples.  Among  the  rcry  first  men 
of  their  time,  in  this  country,  for  intellectual  strength 
and  furniture,  they  were  still  more  distinguished  for 
piety  than  for  learning.  In  their  day  enthusiasm  ap- 
peared in  the  church  to  which  they  belonged.  Few 
other  men  could  gain  an  audience  of  the  deluded ;  but 
these  men  obtained  it,  because  the  reality  and  em- 
inence of  their  piety  were  questioned  by  none.  They 
spoke  and  wrote  so  as  happily  to  correct  the  spreading 
evil,  and  the  good  which  they  effected  was  great  and 
lasting. 

In  like  manner,  only  pious  men  of  distinguished  sci- 
ence can  be  fully  prepared  to  encounter  those  who  turn 
science  against  religion.     But  for  a  few  men  of  piety, 
who  are  scholars  of  the  first  order,  it  is  impossible  to  say 
what  would  be  the  limits  of  the  mischief,  which  learned 
infidels,  heretics  and  formalists,  would  do  to  religion. 
It  would  seem  as  if  they  would  soon  destroy  all  con- 
fidence in  holy  scripture,  and  all  the  belief  of  Christian- 
ity  which  is  founded   on  argument ;  that  they  would 
have  all  men  of  liberal  minds  and  pursuits  on  their  side  ; 
all  youth  of  aspiring  views  ;  all  fashion  and  all  power. 
We  know,  indeed,  that  this  they  will  never  fully  achieve ; 
because  we  know  that  the  church  of  Christ  is  founded 
on  a  rock,  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  shall  never 
prevail.     But  although,  in  every  respect,  the  power  is 
all  of  GOD,  by  which  his  cause  in  the  earth  is  effectively 
maintained,  yet  it  is  our  duty  carefully  to  consider  and 
assiduously  to  employ  the  means,  which  he  has  appoint- 


DISCOURSE  I.  15 

cd,  and  wliich  he  ordinarily  blesses,  for  the  attainment  of 
this  end.  And  since  miracles  have  ceased,  by  which,  at 
first,  Christianity  was  sustained  and  extended,  in  oppo- 
sition to  all  the  learning,  wit  and  power  of  man,  it  ap- 
pears that  science  is  the  chief  instrument ^  by  which 
religion  is  to  be  defended  against  its  learned,  malignant 
and  potent  adversaries.  When  the  christian  champion, 
with  genius,  erudition  and  truth,  all  in  his  favour, 
goes  forth  against  this  embodied  and  embattled  host  of 
darkness,  it  recoils — it  is  disconcerted,  discomfited  and 
defeated.  Its  learning  is  combated  by  better  learn- 
ing ;  its  argument  by  stronger  argument ;  its  eloqucnc  e 
by  higher  eloquence  ;  its  wit  by  keener  wit ;  its  mis- 
representation and  sophistry,  by  the  luminous  and 
resistless  display  of  trutli.  It  is  driven  off  the  field 
of  its  own  choosing.  It  shifts  and  varies  its  position 
a  thousand  times,  and  still  in  all  it  is  met,  faced, 
and  put  to  the  worse.  The  cause  of  truth  constantly 
gains  by  the  conflict,  till,  at  last,  she  triumphs  glori- 
ously :  And  the  thousands  who  always  go  as  reputation 
points,  follow  truth  because  she  triumphs,  more  than  be- 
cause they  have  examined  and  measured  her  weapons, 
or  beheld  and  been  subdued  by  her  charms.  They  arc 
preserved,  however,  from  the  camp  of  the  enemy,  and 
may  eventually  be  trained  into  good  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

IV^  When  science  is  united  with  religion,  the  latter 
is  most  adorned,  recommended  and  promoted,  in  the 
world  at  large — Tliis  point  has  been  necessarily  antici- 


IG  DISCOURSE  1. 

pated ;  but  I  must,  for  a  moment,  present  it  singly  and 
distinctly  to  your  view. 

Never  does  religion  appear  to  all  men  so  venerable, 
so  commanding,  so  attractive,  as  when  seen  in  a  man  of 
strong  natural  powers,  cultivated  and  enriched  by  vari- 
ous and  extensive  knowledge.  When  one  such  example  i* 
exhibited  in  real  life — when  it  becomes  conspicuously  evi- 
dent  that  the  loftiest  intellectual  endowments  have  bowed 
before  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  have  counted  all  things 
but  loss  for  him,  then  religion  receives  the  best  homage 
and  the  highest  honours  which  mortals  can  render.  Then 
it  is  demonstrated  that  ''  the  foolishness  of  GOD  is  wiser 
than  men."  The  influence  of  one  such  man,  not  only  in 
defending  evangelical  truth  against  its  learned  assailants, 
which  we  have  already  considered,  but  in  preventing  or 
putting  to  silence  the  profane  scoffs  of  impious  witlings ; 
in  removing  the  prejudices  of  youth  who  are  ambitious 
of  intellectual  excellence ;  and  in  commanding  a  reverence 
for  religion  among  all  who  observe  him,  is  of  high  con- 
sideration indeed.  When  a  few  such  characters  appear 
in  a  cluster,  they  bear  down  all  open  and  avowed  oppo- 
sition to  religion,  within  the  whole  wide  sphere  of  their 
influence. 

But  even  in  a  much  lower  gradation  of  character ; 
in  that  which  comprehends  men  of  good  sense  and 
sound  learning,  such  as  may  be  found  in  consider- 
able numbers  where  the  union  of  piety  and  sciefnce  is 
patronized  and  encouraged,  the  influence  of  the  cause 
we  contemplate,  in  recommending  and  promoting  relig- 


DISCOURSE  I.  17 

ion,  is  truly  great  and  desirable.  The  mass  of  mankind 
cannot,  and  they  are  sensible  that  they  cannot,  decide 
for  themselves  on  controverted  points,  which  involve  facts 
beyond  their  power  to  investigate  :  and  when  they  see 
men  of  confessed  ability  and  acknowledged  information, 
and  who  also  are  manifestly  and  eminently  men  of  integ- 
rity and  virtue,  the  advocates  of  religion,  they  follow 
their  judgment  on  this  important  subject.  The  doubts 
which  they  had  entertained  are,  in  a  great  measure,  re- 
solved by  the  fact,  that  honest,  conscientious  men,  fully 
capable  of  judging,  have  decided  on  this  controverted 
point ;  have  decided  for  religion,  and  devoted  their  lives 
to  its  service.  In  this,  and  in  various  other  ways, 
talent  and  learning,  when  seen  to  be  united  with  unfeign- 
ed goodness,  always  have  had,  and  always  will  have,  a 
wonderful  influence,  over  the  minds  of  mankind,  in  be- 
half of  religion.  They  invest  their  possessor  with  a 
dignity  and  consequence  which  cannot  easily  be  resisted. 
Having  been  concerned  with  my  brethren  for  a  number 
of  years  in  the  employment  and  direction  of  missionaries, 
I  have  had  numerous  occasions  to  observe  the  truth 
and  the  importance  of  what  I  inculcate  in  this  part  of 
our  subject.  At  first,  it  was  supposed  that,  as  the  mis- 
sionaries were  to  travel  among  people  chiefly  illiterate, 
their  qualifications,  as  to  talents  and  attainments,  might 
be  of  an  inferior  kind.  But  experience  soon  exposed 
this  error.  It  was  speedily  found  that  the  very  best 
talents  and  attainments,  possessed  by  the  clergy  of  our 

church,  were  needed  for  this  service.     It  was  found  that 

D 


18  DISCOURSE  I. 

among  the  people  to  be  evangelized,  there  were  some 
men  of  prime  sense  and  considerable  improvement,  who 
had  great  influence  in  directing  the  popular  sentiment, 
and  sometimes  in  directing  it  wrong :  and  that  if  the 
missionary  were  not  able  to  meet  and  cope  with  these, 
he  lost  nearly  his  whole  influence ;  perhaps  injured  the 
cause  which  he  was   sent  to  promote  : — that    even   in 
places  where  these  able  men  were  not  found,  the  mis- 
sionary's character  for  sense  and  knowledge,  was  ever 
his  best  passport  to  attention,   acceptance  and  respect  9 
and  that,  of  course,  one  well  qualified  missionary  was 
more  useful  than  many  of  a  different  character.     Not 
indeed,  that  either  here,  or  in  any  other  part  of  this 
discourse,  I  would  insinuate  that  any  talents  of  men, 
or  even  of  angels,  can  convert  a  single  soul ;  unless  the 
Sovereign  Dispenser  of  all  grace  shall  please  to  commu- 
nicate it  specially  along  with  the  means  which  his  min- 
isters   employ.      But   we    have    already   seen   that  it 
is  the  usual  order  of  the  divine  dispensation — that  it 
was  so  even  in  the  apostolic  age — that  God  should  suc- 
ceed and  bless  the  natural  gifts  which  he  hath  himself 
bestowed.     Nor  is  it  ever  to  be  forgotten,  that  not  only 
the  natural  powers  which  every  man  possesses,  but  the 
means  and  opportunities  which  he  has  had  to  cultivate 
them,  and  even  the  disposition  to  use  those  means,  and 
his  whole  inclination  to  exert  himself  to  do  good,  are 
all  as  really  the  gifts  of  God,  as  the  prep^ous  and  special 
influences  of  his  grace.     "  I  obtained  mietcy  of  the  Lord 
to  be  faithful/'  was  the  declaration  of  an  apostle. 


DISCOURSE  I.  19 

Neither  is  it  to  be  understood,  that  I  suppose  that  in 
missions  to  the  heathen,  and  in  some  other  missionary 
cnterprizes,  men  with  but  little  liberal  knowledge,  may 
not  be  very  usefully  employed  ;  especially  when  there 
are  some  of  another  description,  under  whose  direction 
and  patronage  they  may  act.  The  Moravian  missions 
are  striking  and  incontrovertible  proofs  that  simple  men, 
possessing  eminent  prudence  and  patience,  with  primi- 
tive piety  and  zeal,  may  execute  the  plans  of  more  com- 
prehensive minds,  with  the  most  desirable,  and  even 
wonderful,  effect.  Nay,  I  must  not  omit  to  state  ex- 
plicitly, that  even  where  the  gospel  is  fully  established 
-—where  churches  are  regularly  organized  and  settled, 
men  of  but  very  moderate  intellectual  strength  and  fur- 
niture, may,  in  a  certain  proportion,  be  highly  useful 
as  pastors  in  the  church.  To  show  the  sovereignty  of 
his  grace,  God  may  sometimes  bless  their  labours,  more 
than  those  of  their  better  qualified  brethren.  All  this 
is  not  only  cheerfully  admitted,  but  considered  as  im-« 
portant  to  be  kept  in  mind. 

Still,  my  general  and  unshaken  position  is,  that  the 
possessor  of  talents  and  learning,  in  union  wdth  piety, 
is  likely  to  be  far  more  influential  in  extending  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  than  any  individual  in  whom 
these  qualifications  are  not  united.  In  support  of  this 
I  appeal  to  all  history,  and  to  all  observation,  from  the 
time  of  the  apostles  to  our  own.  In  every  age  it  shall 
be  found,  that  the  men  who  have  been  most  useful  in 
the  church  of  Christ,  have  been  those  who  united,  in 


20  DISCOURSE  L 

some  degree  of  eminence,  piety  and  science.  These 
have  been  the  men  most  blest,  as  preachers  of  the  gos- 
pel, while  they  lived ;  and  most  instrumental  in  convert- 
ing and  edifying  millions,  by  their  writings,  after  their 
death.  Being  dead  they  have  still  spoken ;  spoken,  not 
to  one  generation  only,  but  to  many.  Consult  your  own 
observation.  Look  around  you,  through  our  own  coun- 
try. Who  are  the  most  useful  pastors  in  our  churches  ? 
Whose  labours  are  the  most  successful  ?  Who  have  the 
most  influence  with  their  people,  and  in  the  church  at 
large  ?  May  not  the  usefulness  of  the  clergy  generally, 
be  measured  on  the  scale  of  knowledge  and  piety  united  ? 
But  I  fear  I  have  referred  too  much  to  the  clergy  in 
what  I  have  said.  It  is  the  union  of  science  with  piety 
in  the  laity,  which  often  has  an  influence  not  less  propi- 
tious, in  the  promotion  of  religion,  as  well  as  in  all  the 
concerns  of  civil  society.  Removed  from  all  suspicion 
of  professional  motives,  of  all  zeal  to  support  that  which 
supports  himself,  when  a  layman  of  genius  and  erudi- 
tion, who  is  also  distinguished  for  piety,  comes  forward 
to  plead  the  cause  of  religion,  he  does  it  with  im- 
mense advantage.  The  fact  itself  goes  far  to  shut  the 
mouth  of  infidelity.  It  can  no  longer  utter  the  stale 
cry  of  "  priestcraft :"  or  "  the  man  is  following  his 
trade,  and  writing  for  his  bread.'^  One  secular  man 
of  great  parts  and  learning,  may,  on  this  account,  serve 
the  cause  of  Christ  beyond  many  in  the  sacred  office. 
Who  can  estimate  the  evils  which  have  been  prevented, 


DISCOURSE  I.  21 

and  the  good  which  has  resulted  from  such  men  appear- 
ing on  the  side  of  rehgion  as  Grotius,  and  Boyle,  and 
Hale,  and  Selden,  and  Newton,  and  Pascal,  and  Boer- 
haave,  and  Addison,  and  Euler,  and  Haller,  and  John- 
son, and  Bonnet,  and  Beattie,  and  Jones,  and  the 
titled  Tcignmouth,  more  truly  ennobled  by  his  oHice 
and  services  as  president  of  the  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society,  than  if  a  crown  had  been  added  to 
his  coronet. 

But  in  characters  of  far  less  eminence  than  these,  in 
eommon  cases,  where  liberal  minded  and  liberally  edu- 
cated laymen,  are  noted  for  piety,  their  example  and 
influence  is  often  inestimably  precious.  At  the  bar,  on 
the  bench,  in  the  senate,  in  the  camp,  in  the  navy,  or 
in  the  compting  house,  they  may  do  more  good  than 
many  w^ho  enter  the  sacred  desk.  Theirs  it  is,  espe- 
cially, to  give  eflect  to  plans  for  the  extension  of  re- 
ligion and  learning. — ^To  w  hom  arc  we  indebted  for  this 
literary  Establishment,  so  dear  to  us  all  ?  Who  had,  at 
once,  the  inclination  and  the  influence,  to  obtain  a  royal 
charter,  for  the  avowed  object  of  promoting  learning 
and  religion — when  it  was  known  too,  that  the  religious 
denomination  actually  and  chiefly  to  be  promoted, 
would  not  perfectly  symbolize  with  that  of  the  court? 
We  owe  it  to  a  liberally  educated,  and  eminently 
holy  layman.  We  owe  it  to  thee,  O  Belcher!* — to 
thee,  whose  humble  piety  would  not  permit  the  edi- 
fice founded  by  thyself,  to  be  called  by  thy  name.     To 

*  See  note  C  at  Uie  end  of  the  volume. 


22  DISCOURSE  I. 

thee  we  owe  it^  that  the  illustrious  men  who  have  here- 
tofore presided  over  this  institution^  had  it  in  their 
power  to  form  for  usefuhiess  the  numerous  youth,  who 
have  gone  forth  from  this  place  to  serve  and  extend  the 
church,  to  bless  and  adorn  the  state.*  May  it  ever  be 
the  distinction  of  this  house,  to  nurture  many  laymen, 
who  shall  emulate  its  founder,  in  piety  and  science,  in 
benevolence  and  public  spirit ! 

Caisididates  for  the  first  degree  in  the  arts — 
In  applying  this  subject  to  you,  for  whose  benefit  chiefly 
it  has  been  selected  and  discussed,  I  have  but  little  to 
say  in  addition  to  what  you  have  heard.  I  would  fain 
hope,  indeed,  that  you  have  already  made  the  proper 
application,  each  for  himself.  May  we  not  reasonably 
hope  that  you  all  feel  the  desire,  and  have  conceived  the 
purpose,  to  exhibit  in  yourselves,  according  to  the  mea- 
sure of  ability  which  you  severally  possess,  the  union 
of  piety  and  science  ?  To  form  you  to  this,  has,  you 
know,  been  the  great  object  constantly  held  in  view  by 
your  teachers,  through  the  whole  of  your  collegiate 
course.  You  are  our  witnesses — and  I  take  you  to  re- 
cord this  day — that  to  this  object  our  efforts  have 
been  constantly  and  assiduously  directed.  If  then 
any  of  you  shall  come  short  of  this  object,  the  respon- 
sibility to  yourselves,  to  your  friends,  to  your  country, 
and  to  your  God,  will  be  all  your  own.  You  will  disap- 
point our  fondest  hopes,  you  will  act  unworthily  of  the 
place  of  your  education,  and  set  yourselves  in  direct  hos* 
tility  with  the  designs  of  its  pious  founders. 

*  See  uGte  D  at  the  end  of  the  volume . 


DISCOURSE  I.  23 

Ah !  if  any  of  you  sliould  so  far  separate  piety  and 
science,  as  to  be  found,  at  last  in  the  ranks  of  infidelityj, 
it  is  fearful  to  think  of  the  account  which  you  will  have 
to  render  at  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ.  Better,  iu 
this  event,  that  you  had  remained  as  ignorant  as  the 
savage  of  tlie  wilderness — infinitely  better  that  you  had 
never  entered  these  walls.  Of  this  tremendous  issue  I 
do,  indeed,  persuade  myself  that  the  danger  is  greatly 
diminished,  by  such  a  course  of  instruction  as  you  have 
received.  Yet  the  appalling  event  contemplated  is 
possible,  and  therefore  '•  as  my  beloved  sons,  I  warn 
you." — Yes,  there  have  been  instances  of  those  as  highly 
favoured,  and  apparently  as  well  principled  as  you 
are,  who,  through  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  have  been 
brought,  eventually  ^'  to  deny  the  Lord  that  bought 
them."  It  is  the  expression  of  the  kindest  regard, 
when  I  devoutly  pray,  that  you  may  rather  die  in  the 
morning  of  life,  than  live  to  be  added  to  tlie  number  of 
these  dreadful  examples  of  apostacy  from  trutli,  and 
hope,  and  salvation. 

Some  of  you  I  know — and  I  rejoice  exceedingly  to 
know  it — are  looking  forward  to  the  gospel  ministry,  as 
your  calling  for  life.  In  such,  the  importance  of  the 
union  of  piety  and  science  is  generally  admitted.  To 
this  I  not  only  accede,  but  desire  to  remind  every  can- 
didate for  the  sacred  ofiice  in  this  class,  that  certainly 
till  the  wane  of  life,  if  not  till  the  end  of  it,  he  ought  to 
feel  that  it  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  choice  and  inclination, 
but  a  binding  christian  and  ministerial  duty,  to  be  con- 


24  DISCOURSE  I. 

stantly  augmenting  his  fund  of  knowledge  : — constantly 
extending  his  acquaintance  with  every  subject  that, 
either  directly  or  collaterally,  will  add  to  his  ministerial 
furniture. 

Let  him  by  all  means  cultivate  piety.  Let  him  re- 
gard this  as  primary  and  essential.  Let  him  know  and 
remember  that  a  fervent  piety  is  that  alone  which  can 
render  him  either  safe,  or  comfortable,  or  probably 
useful,  in  the  ministerial  vocation.  But  let  him  also 
consider  it  as  a  part  of  his  duty  to  God,  to  increase  his 
knowledge — to  increase  it  as  much  as  his  circumstances, 
in  the  use  of  constant  vigilance  and  industry,  will  permit. 

But  I  particularly  deprecate  the  influence  of  a  notion 
— too  prevalent  I  fear — that  it  belongs  to  candidates  for 
the  gospel  ministry  alone,  to  cultivate  piety  and  science, 
in  union.  Consider  what  you  have  heard — that  this 
union  may  sometimes  be  even  more  useful  in  the  laity, 
than  in  the  clergy.  I  therefore  entreat  those  of  you 
Vv'ho  are  destined  to  secular  employments,  to  take 
your  full  share  of  this  address  and  charge.  Forget  not, 
I  beseech  you,  that  the  care  of  the  soul  is  the  "  one 
thing  needful,''  to  laymen  as  well  as  to  clergymen.  True 
religion  is  necessary,  not  merely  to  increase  your  present 
happiness  and  usefulness  :  it  is,  remember,  essential 
to  your  future  and  eternal  welfare.  "  Except  a  man  be 
bom  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God.''  Be  not 
satisfied  therefore  with  an  amiable  and  blameless  exte- 
rior. Be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  a  renewed 
heart,  a  vital  union  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  a 


DISCOUKSK  I.  25 

life  of  holy  obedience  to  all  the  commandments  of  God. 

In  regard  to  the  cultivation  of  your  minds,  1  nuist 
repeat  what  I  have  said  to  candidates  for  the  holy  min- 
istry— Consider  yourselves  as  sacredly  bound  to  im- 
prove in  useful  knowledge.  Seek  and  embrace  every 
opportunity  or  advantage  for  making  improvement. 
Accustom  yourselves  from  the  very  first  to  diligence, 
method  and  regularity,  in  your  literary  pursuits.  Con- 
tinue, without  any  interruption,  the  habits  of  study 
acquired  in  this  place.  Cultivate  continually  a  sense 
of  obligation  to  direct  and  consecrate  all  your  knowl- 
edge and  attainments  to  some  useful  end.  Cherish  a 
strong  desire,  and  be  incessant  in  your  endeavours,  to  do 
good.  Never  suffer  you  acquisitions  of  knowledge,  or 
your  capacity  of  usefulness,  to  remain  unemployed. 
Produce  them  to  the  world,  and  be  emulous  to  take  a 
part — a  leading  part,  if  you  are  called  to  it — in  every 
liberal,  every  virtuous,  every  benevolent,  every  pious 
enterprise. 

It  will  be  advantageous  to  you  all,  whatever  he  your 

destination  in  life,  to  measure  and  ascertain,  as  well  as 

you  can,  your  own  capacities.     Be  not  too  aspiring ;  but 

yet  aim  high.     Let  your  motive  in  this  be  to  do  good, 

rather  than  to  seek  applause.  I  warn  you  seriously  against 

an  undue  seeking  of  popularity.  It  is  an  unsatisfying,  vain 

and  dangerous  pursuit.     Let  the  approbation  of  God  and 

of  your  own  consciences,  be  supremely  regarded.     With 

this  may  lawfully  be  connected  a  moderate  desire  to  secure 

the  favourable  opinion  of  the  wise  and  the  good.   Under 

E 


OG  DISCOURSE  I. 

the  influence  and  guidance  of  these  principles,  let  pop- 
ularity attach  to  you  as  much,  or  as  little  as  it  will, 
without  courting  it.  Strive  to  be  useful,  and  you  will 
certainly  have  influence.  And  let  influence,  when  ac- 
quired, be  considered  as  a  talent,  for  which  your  are 
highly  responsible  ; — as  a  talent  which  you  are  to  man- 
age so  as  to  effect  the  greatest  good  to  which  it  is  com- 
petent. In  the  circle  of  your  influence  be  very  active. 
In  that  circle  let  every  plan  to  promote  learning  and 
the  arts,  every  attempt  at  useful  improvements  of  what- 
ever kind,  every  scheme  of  benevolence,  every  institu- 
tion of  piety,  have  your  cordial  support.  Wherever 
you  shall  permanently  reside,  consider  yourselves  as  spe- 
cially charged  to  see  that  there  the  gospel  be  preached, 
and  its  ordinances  administered,  if  this  can  be  effected 
by  your  utmost  efforts. 

But  be  not  content  with  local  and  narrow  vicAvs  of 
usefulness.  Enlarge  the  sphere  of  your  benevolent 
vision,  beyond  the  little  circle  around  you.  Look 
to  the  gi^eat  plans  that  are  carrying  on  for  the 
good  of  mankind  at  large.  Not  only  wish  them  well, 
but  help  them  forward.  We  live  in  an  age  of  great 
events,  and  of  great  expectations.  Scripture  prophecy 
is  fulfilling,  and  about,  probably,  to  be  more  illustriously 
fulfilled.  Cherish  a  sacred  emulation  to  be  instrument- 
al in  promoting  the  cause  of  God  ;  and  to  have  a  share 
in  the  work  and  the  reward  of  those,  who  are  the  hon- 
oured agents  in  his  hand  of  executing  his  meixiful  pur- 
poses, and  of  advancing  his  kingdom  and  glory  in  the 
world. 


DISCOURSE  I.  27 

With  these  counsels  and  injunctions,  my  last  address 
to  you  must  be  closed.  I  aflectionately  and  solemnly  com* 
mit  you  to  God  ;  to  the  care  of  his  providence ;  to  the 
influence  of  his  grace ;  praying  that  you  may  be  conduct- 
ed safely  through  all  the  perils  and  vicissitudes  of  life ; 
and  that  we  may  have  a  happy  meeting  in  the  mansions 
of  unfading  bliss.     Amen. 


DISCOURSE  11. 


GOD  ACKNOWLEDGED  DIRECTING  THE  PATH  OF  DUTY. 


Prov.  ITT.    6. 
^*  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  H'wi,  and  he  shall  direct 

thy  paths.^^ 

J-  HE  proverbs  of  Solomon  are,  in  most  instances,  un- 
connected maxims  of  wisdom,  prudence  or  piety.  The 
text,  however,  is  manifestly  connected  with  the  verse 
which  precedes  it ;  so  that  the  two  verses  are  to  be  con- 
sidered either  as  containing  two  proverbs  closely  related, 
or  else  two  parts  of  the  same  proverb :  of  which  the 
latter  is  an  explanation  and  application  of  the  former. 
The  passage,  in  its  connexion,  stands  thus — "'Trust  in 
the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart,  and  lean  not  unto  thine 
own  understanding.  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him, 
and  he  shall  direct  thy  paths.''  The  spirit  of  this  in- 
junction is,  that  we  should  rely  on  the  guidance  and 
direction  of  God,  and  not  upon  our  own  understanding, 
or  sagacity,  in  choosing  our  course  in  life,  and  in  dis- 
charging its  duties. 

"  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him,  and  He  shall  di- 
rect thy  paths."  We  have  here,  I.  A  duty  prescribed. 
11.  A  promise  made  to  the  performance  of  that  duty. 
Let  us  consider  each  of  the^e  distinctly,  and  then  briefly 
apply  the  subject. 


30  DISCOURSE  IF, 

I.  In  the  text  there  is  a  duty  prescribed — "  In  all  thy 
ways  acknowledge  him.'' 

We  shall,  I  apprehend,  most  fully  and  advantageously 
explain  and  exhibit  the  meaning  of  the  inspired  writer 
in  these  words,  by  taking  three  views  of  the  precept 
which  they  contain— ^By  considering 

In  the  first  place ^  What  it  is  to  acknowledge  God,  in 
the  sense  of  this  precept,  in  the  ordinary  course  and 
concerns  of  life. 

Secondly,  Wherein  the  duty  consists,  when  we  are 
entering  on  an  extraordinary  undertaking,  or  important 
enterprise,  in  which  it  is  plainly  lawful  for  us  to  engage. 

Thirdly,  How  our  duty  may  be  ascertained  when  we 
are  doubtful,  or  greatly  at  a  loss  about  it— ^and  the 
matter  in  question  is,  notwithstanding,  highly  important 
to  our  future  welfare. 

None  of  these  views  is  uninteresting,  and  each  ot 
them  might,  perhaps,  profitably  occupy  the  time  of  a 
whole  discourse.  The  two  former,  however,  I  shall 
treat  generally  and  cursorily,  intending  to  spend  a  little 
more  time  in  discussing  the  third ;  because  it  is  that 
in  which  direction  is  most  necessary,  and  that,  also, 
to  which  I  think  the  text  most  directly  points. 

First  then,  if  we  would  acknowledge  God,  in  the  or- 
dinary course  and  concerns  of  life,  we  must  have  a  set- 
tled and  lively  sense  of  our  dependance  on  him  for  his 
blessing,  in  all  our  affairs  and  interests,  both  temporal 
and  spiritual.  This  duty  n^cessanly  supposes  that  the 
mind  of  him  who  is  to  perform  it  is  under  the  influence 


DISCOURSE  II.  31 

of  pious  principles.  He  who  has  no  feeling  of  these, 
will  never,  in  the  spirit  of  the  text,  acknowledge  God 
19  all,  nor  in  any  of  his  ways.  Whoever  has  not  a  firm 
and  practical  belief  that  a  divine  providence  governs 
and  guides  the  concerns  of  men,  and  tliat  it  extends  to 
the  circumstances  of  each  individual,  as  well  as  to  the 
destinies  of  communities,  will,  of  course,  never  commit 
the  lot  of  life  to  God  to  be  mercifully  ordered  by  him. 
This,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  can  be  done  only  by 
one  who  truly  believes,  according  to  the  doctrine  of 
our  Saviour,  that  "  a  sparrow  fallcth  not  to  the  ground 
without  our  heavenly  Father,  and  that  the  hairs  of  our 
heads  are  all  numbered  y^  implying  that  the  providence 
of  the  Creator  extends  to  the  most  minute  incidents 
which  relate  to  his  creatures. 

He  who  acknowledges  God,  so  as  to  fulfil  the  injunc- 
tion of  the  text,  must  especially  be  sensible  that  the 
divine  favour  and  blessing  are,  in  the  strictest  sense, 
essential  to  his  happiness.  The  favour  and  blessing  of 
his  Maker,  therefore,  he  will  be  most  solicitous  to 
obtain.  And  knowing  that  God  will  never  make  his 
enemies  happy,  reconciliation  with  him,  in  the  way 
of  his  own  appointment,  and  the  uninterrupted  continu- 
ance of  his  friendship,  will  be  sought  with  the  greatest 
earnestness,  and  maintained  with  unceasing  vigilance. 
In  a  word,  the  man  we  contemplate  must  feel  and  act 
under  the  conviction  that  if  he  possess  the  favour  and 
loving  kindness  of  God  his  Maker,  he  will  certainly,  let 


32  DISCOURSE  II, 

his  outward  circumstances  be  what  they  may,  have  the 
best  and  most  desirable  portion. 

A  system  of  conduct  founded  on  this  conviction,  will, 
doubtless,  always  require  that  the  whole  of  human  ex- 
istence be  taken  into  view.  Not  merely  that  small  and 
inconsiderable  part  which  lies  on  this  side  the  grave ; 
but  that  also  which  lies  beyond  it,  and  is  of  infinite 
duration.  To  desire  to  be  happy  in  time,  in  such  man- 
ner as  to  be  unhappy  through  eternity,  is  nothing  less 
than  the  madness  of  folly.  All  suffering  and  disap- 
pointment, therefore,  in  this  world,  which  an  infinitely 
wise  and  good  Being  may  see  to  be  necessary  to  pro- 
mote or  insure  felicity  in  the  world  to  come,  will  be  de- 
liberately chosen  by  every  man  who  acts  with  true  ra- 
tionality. The  man  who  really  acknowledges  God  \^dll  be 
eareful  to  act  in  this  manner.  He  will  desire  that  measure, 
and  that  only,  of  worldly  good,  which  infinite  wisdom 
may  see  to  be  most  advantageous  to  him  as  an  immortal 
being ;  and  fully  sensible  that  all  things  are  ordered 
by  God,  he  will  desire  and  pray  that  they  may  be  so 
ordered  as  that  they  may  all  conspire  and  work  together 
in  subserviency  to  the  divine  glory,  for  his  own  ultimate 
and  highest  happiness. 

In  all  the  occurrences  of  life  he  will  eye  the  hand  of 
his  heavenly  Father,  and  receive  both  prosperity  and 
adversity  as  coming  from  it.  He  will  perceive  that 
every  effort  of  his,  will  be  successful  or  abortive,  just 
as  the  Supreme  Disposer  of  all  events  shall  please  to 
order.     Re  will  therefore^  every   day  of  his  life^  de- 


DISCOURSE  IL  33 

voutly  ask  to  be  directed  by  God  in  the  path  of  duty  5 
and  he  will  cherish  the  habitual  recollection  that  in  all 
hf  does,  or  attempts,  or  contrives,  it  will  still  remain 
with  Him,  "  who  doth  according  to  his  will  in  the  army 
of  Heaven  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,"  to 
succeed  or  disappoint  him,  and  to  render  success  or 
disappointment  a  blessing  or  a  curse — "  The  heart  of 
man  deviseth  his  way,  but  the  Lord  directeth  his  steps." 

Secondly.  When  he  who  acknowledges  God  in  all 
his  ways  is  about  to  enter  on  an  extraordinary  under- 
taking, or  important  enterprise,  in  which  it  is  plainly 
lawful  to  engage,  you  will  perceive,  from  what  has 
already  been  said,  that  he  will  be  exceedingly  desirous 
to  secure  the  divine  smiles  and  patronage.  Feeling 
that  on  these  he  absolutely  depends,  and  perceiving 
that  the  concern  is  deeply  to  affect  his  future  welfare, 
he  will  now  desire  and  supplicate  the  direction,  aid 
and  blessing  of  God,  with  peculiar  earnestness  and 
solicitude. 

Johnson,  in  his  life  of  Milton,  quotes  from  a  publica- 
tion of  that  great  poet,  the  following  sentences,  written 
before  he  had  planned  the  poem  of  Paradise  Lost, 
but  after  he  had  resolved  to  undertake  something  that 
might  be  of  use  and  honor  to  his  country.  In  thiiiking 
of  the  necessary  preparation  for  such  an  undertaking, 
Milton  says,  "  This  is  not  to  be  obtained  but  by  devout 
"  prayer  to  that  Eternal  Spii-it  that  can  enrich  with  all 
*^  utterance  and  knowledge,  and  sends  out  his  seraphim 

^'  with  the  hallowed  fire  of  his  altar,  to  touch  and  purify 

F 


34  DISCOURSE  II. 

^'  the  lips  of  whom  he  pleases.  To  this  must  be  added 
^'  industrious  and  select  reading,  steady  observation, 
^^and  insight  into  all  seemly  and  generous  arts  and 
''  affairs,  till  which  in  some  measure  be  compast,  I  re- 
''  fuse  not  to  sustain  this  expectation."  Johnson  adds — 
"  From  a  promise  like  this,  at  once  fervid,  pious,  and 
"  rational,  might  be  expected  the  Paradise  Lost.''  The 
biographer  of  Johnson  himself  informs  us,  that  he,  in 
like  manner,  entered  on  the  execution  of  his  far-famed 
work,  entitled  "  The  Rambler,"  with  exercises  of  spe- 
cial prayer,  and  a  sense  of  his  dependance  on  God  for 
success,  similar  to  those  w^hich  he  records  of  Milton. 

Surely  the  w^itlings  of  infidelity  have  reason  to  blush, 
when  they  attempt  to  deride,  as  the  w  eakness  of  enthu- 
siasm, those  devotional  exercises  which  have  been  consid- 
ered as  essential  to  success,  by  the  greatest  examples  of 
human  intellect  w^hich  the  world  has  seen.  Exercises, 
too,  which  have  been  deemed  equally  important,  and  as 
such  have  been  employed,  by  some  of  the  most  renown- 
ed and  successful  military  and  naval  commanders,  whose 
heroism  and  glory  have  commanded  the  admiration  and 
envy  of  the  world.  Yes,  brethren — he  who  would 
acknowledge  God  in  all  his  ways,  must  especially  ac- 
knowledge him  in  those  important  occurrences  and  en- 
terprises of  life,  on  which  its  whole  complexion  must  de- 
pend, and  by  which  its  fortunes  must  be  decided.  Then 
the  mind  is  to  be  charged  to  be  peculiarly  sensible  that 
success  must  come  from  God ; — that  the  Most  High  is 
then  holding  the  destiny  of  his  dependant  creature  in 


DISCOURSE  11.  35 

his  hand,  and  is  to  be  humbly  and  fervently  implored 
to  order  and  decide  it  in  his  mercy.  But  I  hasten  to 
considei' — 

Thirdly — How  our  duty  may  be  ascertained  when 
we  are  doubtful,  or  greatly  at  a  loss  about  it ; — and  the 
matter  in  question  is,  notwithstanding,  highly  important 
to  our  future  welfare. 

First  of  all,  let  the  party  whose  case  we  here  consider, 
use  special  and  fervent  prayer.  Let  him,  in  all  his 
prayers,  ask  counsel,  in  regard  to  the  doubt  which  is  to 
be  resolved.  Let  him  also  set  apart  some  season  for 
special  prayer  in  regard  to  the  urgent  concern ;  and  if 
practicable  let  him  ]om  fasting  with  prayer.  In  prayer 
let  him  particularly  desire  and  ask,  that  his  mind  may 
be  rendered  thoroughly  honest  and  candid  ;  that  it  may 
in  no  degree  be  biassed  by  passion  or  inclination ;  but 
be  made  willing  to  know  and  practice  duty,  although  it 
should  consist  in  severe  self-denial.  As  an  encourage- 
ment to  pray  for  light  and  direction,  let  him  recollect 
and  plead  the  gracious  declaration — "  If  any  of  you 
lack  wisdom  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men 
liberally  and  upbraideth  not,  and  it  shall  be  given  him." 
The  wisdom  here  promised  is  imparted  "  from  the  Fa- 
ther of  lights,"  by  his  word,  by  his  providence,  and  by 
his  Spirit,  to  the  humble  and  believing  suppliant.  From 
these  sources,  therefore,  he  who  has  prayed  in  faith  for 
direction  in  duty,  may  expect  to  receive  the  guidance  he 
has  sought — And  hence 


36  DISCOURSE  II. 

2.  It  will  be  incumbent  on  him  carefully  and  diligent- 
ly to  consult  ^^the  scriptures  of  truth."  There  let  him 
faithfully  search  for  a  case  similar  or  analagous  to  his  own. 
If  not  successful  in  such  a  search,  let  him  impartially  con- 
sider the  scope  and  spirit  of  those  doctrines  and  princi- 
ples which  have  a  bearing  on  his  case ;  from  which  he 
can  scarcely  fail  to  derive  some  important  aid.  In  this 
manner  let  him  try  to  make  the  oracles  of  God  ''  the 
man  of  his  counsel.'^ 

3.  Let  him  also  carefully  observe  the  aspect  of  prov- 
idence. Having  prayed  that  providence  may  be  his 
guide,  let  him  see  if  it  do  not  offer  some  plain  indica- 
tions by  which  his  duty  may  be  gathered.  These  indi- 
cations, however,  it  should  ever  be  remembered,  are  to 
be  considered  with  great  coolness  and  deliberation ; 
and  that  a  suitable  jealousy  is  to  be  exercised  lest  fancy 
should  mould  them  to  the  wishes  or  inclination  of  the 
party  whose  interest  is  at  stake. 

4.  The  opinion  of  judicious  friends  should  be  taken. 
And  that  the  inquirer  may  get  a  candid  opinion,  it  will 
be  well,  if  concealment  be  fairly  practicable,  not  to  let 
it  be  known  that  the  case  he  proposes  relates  to  him- 
self. Or  if  this,  as  will  often  happen,  cannot  be  done, 
let  him  be  at  pains  to  make  those  whom  he  consults 
believe  that  he  honestly  desires  to  know  his  duty,  and 
will  feel  deeply  indebted  to  the  friends  who  shall  advise 
him  faithfully  and  discreetly. 

It  is  still  better  to  consult  books  than  men.  If  it  can 
be  found  that  the  case  in  question  has  been  discussed  and 


DISCOURSE  n.  37 

decided  by  a  judicious  writer,  it  will  be  known  that  the 
opinion  given,  in  addition  to  other  considerations,  has  not 
been  influenced  by  any  regard  to  the  party  whom  it 
now  concerns.  When  opinions  have  thus  been  obtained, 
they  are  to  be  carefully  weighed  and  duly  regarded. 
Yet,  as  every  man  is  to  answer  for  himself,  so  he  ought 
to  remember  that  he  is  bound  to  judge  for  himself — 
Therefore, 

5.  Let  him  ponder  his  own  case  much  in  his  ovra 
mind.     No  one,   probably,  will  be  brought  to  take  as 
much  interest  in  it  as  he  takes  himself ;  and  no  one  can 
know  what  he  is,  and  for  what  he  is  qualified,  as  well 
as,  with  due  care  and  attention,   he  may  know  himself. 
In  making  up  his  mind  let  him  not  be  hasty ;  and  yet 
let  him  have  it  constantly  in  view  to  be  entirely  decided 
and  satisfied  at  last;  for  few  things  are  more  painful 
than  a  dubious  and  unsettled  state  of  mind  in  regard  to 
an  important  point  of  duty.     To  prevent  this  it  will  be 
useful  to  forecast,  as  far  as  possible,  all  the  consequen- 
ces of  both  sides  of  the  alternative  to  be  decided  on ; — 
what  is  likely  to  ensue  on  the  supposition  that  he  takes 
this  course  or  that ;  that  he  consents  or  refuses ;  that 
he  acts  or  resolves  not  to  act.     It  may  sometimes  be 
advisable  to  write  down  all  the  considerations  which 
occur,  and  which  ought  to  have  influence  on  each  side  of 
the  question ;  that  being  fully  drawn  out  and  seen  at  one 
view,  they   may  be  weighed  and  considered  with  the 
greatest  advantage.     In  all  dubious  matters  it  is  a  good 
rule  to  go  much,  if  we  can,  on  the  plan  of  doing  that 


38  DISCOURSE  11. 

which  is  safe^  that  which  is  clearly  lawful.  There  may, 
indeed,  be  an  extreme  and  superstitious  scrupulosity. 
But  if  it  be  clearly  lawful  to  act  in  one  way?  and  quite 
questionable  whether  it  be  so  to  act  in  another,  we 
ought  always  to  take  the  path  which  is  not  doubtful. 

It  is,  my  brethren,  by  a  sound  and  discreet  use  of 
the  directions  now  given— by  seeking  counsel  and  di- 
rection of   God  in  frequent    and  earnest    prayer — by 
making  his  word  the  man  of  our  counsel — by  observing 
the  indications  of  the  di\dne  providence — by  consulting- 
men    and    books — and    by    carefully    deliberating    on 
all  circumstances  with  ourselves-^that  we  are  to   ac- 
knowledge God,  and  endeavour  to  ascertain  our  duty 
when  we   are    doubtful    about   it,   and   the   matter  in 
question  is,   notwithstanding,  highly  important  to  our 
future  welfare.     It  is,  you  will  carefully  observe,  by 
acting  in  this  manner  that  we  recognize  our  entire  de* 
pendance  on  our  Maker,  and  at  the  same  time  make  use 
of  our  own  powers  and  endeavours,  as  rational  and  ac- 
countable creatures.     And  these  two  things  are  always 
to  be  joined  together :  for  he  who  professes  to  depend 
on  God,  without  using  his  own  reason  and  efforts,  and 
he  who  actually  relies  on  his  own  reason  and  efforts, 
without    feeling    his   dependence    on    God,    are    both 
chargeable  with   gross   presumption.     The  one  tempts 
his  Maker,  and  the  other  idolizes  himself.     The  man 
who  truly  acknowledges  God  in  all  his  ways  will  care- 
fully and  constantly  unite  the  two  duties,  of  cherishing 
a  sense  of  his  absolute  dependance  on  the  assistance 


DISCOURSE  ir.  39 

and  blessing  of  the  Most  High,  and  of  using  his  own 
best  exertions  to  ascertain  and  perform  his  duty.  And 
then — 

II.  He  may  stedfastly  rely  on  the  fulfilment  of  the 
promise,  that  ^*  the  Lord  will  direct   his  steps.'' 

In  looking  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  promise,  how- 
ever, let  us,  my  brethren,  beware  of  expecting  to  receive  it 
by  any  sudden,  or  irresistible  impulse  of  the  mind.  Let  us 
be  cautious  how  we  even  desire  that  our  duty  should  be 
intimated  in  this  manner.  Such  an  intimation,  if  it  be 
ever  given,  must  be  considered  as  an  extraordinary 
dispensation,  which  must  be  left  entirely  to  the  sove- 
reignty of  Him  who  awards  it.  We  have  no  claim  to 
calculate  on  any  unusual  aid  or  interposition  of  the 
Deity.  But  in  an  humble  reliance  on  the  divine  assur- 
ance given  in  the  text,  we  may  hope  and  expect  that, 
wlule  we  are  careful,  and  diligent,  and  persevering  in 
the  use  of  the  means  that  have  been  specified,  God 
will  direct  our  minds,  in  the  exercise  of  sound  reason 
and  discretion,  of  an  enlightened  conscience  and  gen- 
uine pious  sentiment,  to  make  a  right  clioice,  or  to  form 
a  correct  decision,  in  regard  to  a  doubtful  and  impor- 
tant point  of  duty. 

Sometimes  we  may  have  no  inconsiderable  difliculty 
in  coming  to  a  determination  on  a  question  in  which 
our  dearest  interests  appear  to  be  involved  ;  and,  even  at 
the  last,  we  may  not  have  the  perfect  clearness  which 
we  could  wish.  But  when  we  have  faithfully  used  the 
means  whicli  have  been  mentioned,  and  taken  the  course 


40  DISCOURSE  IL 

which  on  the  whole  appeared  to  be  right,  we  are  war- 
ranted to  believe,  and  ought  to  believe,  that  the  Lord 
has  directed  our  path.  The  promise  was  predicated 
on  the  performance  of  a  duty,  namely,  the  acknowledg- 
ing of  God.  The  duty,  by  the  supposition,  has  been 
performed.  The  promise  then  became  absolute ;  and 
to  believe  in  its  accomplishment  is  not  only  lawful  but 
obligatory. 

Nor  is  the  humble  believer,  in  applying  this  truth, 
to  indulge  distrust,  on  account  of  the  imperfection  which 
may  have  attended  the  performance  of  his  duty  in  the 
case  contemplated ;  if,  on  a  careful  review,  that  imper- 
fection shall  appear  not  to  have  been  peculiar.  He 
who  made  the  promise  knew  that  the  duty  with  which 
it  is  connected  would,  in  every  instance,  be  imperfectly 
performed.  This,  and  all  the  other  promises  of  the 
divine  word,  we  are  to  remember,  are  fulfilled  to  believ- 
ers who  act  imperfectly,  but  yet  sincerely,  for  the  sake 
of  the  perfect  righteousness,  and  through  the  prevalent 
mediation,  of  Christ  their  Redeemer.  If,  indeed,  it  be 
clearly  evident,  that  we  have  not  performed  the  duty 
required,  with  some  good  degree  of  care,  and  serious- 
ness, and  impartiality,  and  earnest  desire  to  know  the 
way  in  which  we  ought  to  walk — for  these  are  the  in- 
gredients which  constitute  sincerity — then,  certainly, 
we  .have  no  right  to  apply  the  promise  to  ourselves. 
But  if  these  evidences  of  sincerity  have  not  been  want- 
ing,   although    a    lamentable    imperfection  may   have 


DISCOURSE  II.  41 

attended  tliem  all,  we  may  confidently  expect,  and  shall 
certainly  find,  that  the  Lord  will  do  as  he  hath  said — 
he  will  direct  our  paths. 

In  every  age,  brethren,  the  truth  of  the  promise  we 
here  consider,  as  it  relates  not  only  to  doubtful  points 
of  duty,  but  also  to  the  general  course  of  life,  and  to 
great  and  diflicult  undertakings  where  duty  was  obvi- 
ous, has  been  remarkably  experienced.      History  both 
sacred  and  profane,  abounds  with  examples  of  the  ful- 
filment  of  this   promise.      These  examples  have  been 
confined  to  no  class  or  order  of  men  ;  but  they  have,  of 
course,  been  most  striking  in  those  who  have  been  the 
greatest  benefactors  of  mankind,   and  whose  memory  is 
the  most  precious.     Their  high  and  distinguished  hon- 
our and  usefulness  have  unquestionably  been  attributa- 
ble— and  such  has  been  their  own  judgment — to   the 
signal  blessing  of  the  God  of  providence   on   measures 
and  eflbrts,  for  direction  and  assistance  in  which  they 
constantly   looked   and   prayed.       Yes  ;    they  sensibly 
felt  their  dependence  on   God  and  continually  acknowl- 
edged it ;  they  sought  and  obtained  his  guidance  and 
benediction ;    and  when    success,    often    beyond    their 
most  sanguine  hopes,  crowned  their  labours,  they  as- 
cribed the  praise  of  all,  not  to  themselves,  but  to  God 
alone. 

Here,  however,  an  inquiry  of  some  importance  de- 
mands attention.  Good  men.  it  must  be  admitted,  have 
not  always  been  successful,   either  in  their  endeavours 

to  benefit   others,  or   to    provide   for   themselves.      If 

G 


42  DISCOURSE  II. 

then  the  promise  we  consider  be  invariably  fulfilled, 
how^  in  may  be  asked,  is  it  fulfilled  to  them  ?  I  answer 
— good  men  themselves  may  not  always  comply  with  the 
condition  of  the  promise,  and  for  this  reason  may  not 
experience  its  accomplishment.  Men  truly  good,  in 
their  general  character,  are  sometimes  greatly  deficient 
in  the  discharge  of  particular  duties.  And  in  such 
cases  the  neglect  of  duty  may  be  visited  with  divine 
chastisements,  in  such  manner  that  the  offence  may  be 
seen  in  the  punishment.  Who  that  reads  attentively 
the  history  of  David,  but  must  remark  with  pain,  that 
the  neglect  of  parental  duty  was,  by  the  righteous  per- 
mission of  God,  fearfully  punished  by  filial  ingratitude 
and  domestic  distress  ?  In  like  manner,  there  may  be 
good  men — and  indeed,  brethren,  I  fear  their  num- 
ber is  not  small — who  are  lamentably  deficient  in  the 
duty  of  acknowledging  God.  Good  men,  indeed, 
they  could  not  be,  if  they  did  not.feel  and  confess,  and 
with  some  sensibility  and  constancy  too,  their  entire 
dependence  on  God  for  all  that  they  possess,  and  all 
that  they  expect.  Still,  they  may  be  chargeable  with 
great  and  very  criminal  neglect.  They  neglect,  per- 
haps, that  part  of  the  general  duty  which  consists  in  a 
daily  and  earnest  looking  to  God  to  prosper  their  under- 
takings, and  to  bless  all  the  labours  of  their  hands.  Or 
they  make  material  changes  in  their  affairs,  or  enter 
on  important  enterprises,  without  any  special  acknowl- 
edgement of  God  at  all.  Or  they  are  not  sensible,  in 
the  degree  that  they  ought  to  be,  of  their  need  of  divine 


DISCOURSE  II.  43 

direction.  Or  they  do  not  unite  care,  caution  and  in- 
dustry— the  vigorous  use  of  their  own  powers  and 
efforts — with  the  other  part  of  the  duty.  That  by  pal- 
pable and  gross  deficiency  in  some  one,  or  in  several, 
of  these  particulars,  good  men  sometimes  fail  in  per- 
forming the  condition  specified  in  the  text,  and  so  lose 
the  benefit  of  the  promise  w  hich  it  contains,  is  not  to  be 
doubted.  Far  be  it  from  us,  indeed,  rashly  to  judge 
our  brethren  in  particular  instances,  and  to  say,  w  hen 
we  see  an  individual  unsuccessful  in  life,  that  his  dis- 
appointments or  losses  are  the  punishment  of  his  ne- 
glecting to  acknowledge  God.  This  is  contrary  to  the 
whole  tenor  of  scripture  doctrine,  and  the  spirit  of  chris- 
tian charity  ;  and  it  will  presently  appear  that  our  sub- 
ject itself  forbids  such  a  conclusion.  But  although  it 
is  not  for  us,  who  know  neither  the  hearts  nor  the  exer- 
cises of  individuals,  hastily  to  mark  them  as  transgres- 
sors, yet  it  is  not  only  a  doctrinal  truth  warranted  by 
scripture,  but  one  of  great  *practical  importance,  which 
ought  to  be  imprinted  on  our  minds  for  admonition  and 
w-arning,  that  good  men  may  sorely  experience  the 
frowns  of  providence  in  their  worldly  concerns,  be- 
cause they  do  not  suitably  acknowledge  God.  Nay, 
the  pious  are  the  very  persons  w  ho  have  most  reason 
to  expect  this  dispensation.  The  ungodly  may  "  pros- 
per in  the  world  and  increase  in  riches,''  and  thus  fill 
up  the  measure  of  their  iniquity,  and  receive  the  more 
aggravated  condemnation  in  the  world  to  come.  But 
the  Father  of  mercies  chastens  his  own  children  in  this 


44  DISCOURSE  11. 

life,  that  he  may  bring  them  to  repentance,  reclaim 
them  from  their  wanderings,  and  thus  prepare  them  for 
^^  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.'^ 

It  now  only  remains  to  admit,  in  the  most  explicit 
manner,  that  there  may  he  cases  where  worldly  success 
or  prosperity  may  not  be  the  allotment  of  those  who 
are  chargeable  with  no  special  neglect  of  the  duty  pre- 
scribed in  the  text.  How,  it  will  be  demanded,  is  the 
promise  fulfilled  to  these  ?  The  answer  is  easy  to  him 
who  has  faith  in  God,  and  knowledge  of  his  holy  word. 
That  w^ord  will  teach  us  that  nothing  can  be  further 
from  the  truth  than  to  believe,  that  the  worldly  prosper- 
ity which  we  are  prone  to  desire,  and  especially  that 
measure  of  it  w^hich  we  often  covet,  would  be  a  real 
favour  if  it  were  bestowed.  Here,  then,  is  the  solution 
of  the  apparent  difficulty.  In  all  cases  where  men 
have  truly  and  suitably  acknowledged  God,  and  yet 
have  not  obtained  what  they  have  sought,  their  Heav- 
enly Fatlier  has  seen  that  it  would  not  be  good  for 
them  to  obtain  it.  He  has  seen  that  disappointment 
would  be  better  for  them  than  success,  and  therefore, 
in  very  faithfulness  he  has  disappointed  them.  He 
gives  to  all  his  people,  who  duly  acknowledge  him, 
as  much  prosperity  as  they  can  bear ;  as  much  as  they 
themselves  would  wish,  if  every  thing  was  as  open 
to  their  view  as  it  is  to  his.  To  these,  therefore, 
his  promise  is  as  really  and  as  kindly  fulfilled  as  it  is 
to  those  who  are  not  disappointed — as  it  is  to  the  most 
prosperous.      They  have  actually  had  all  the  success 


DISCOURSE  II.  45 

which,  taking  their  whole  existence  into  \\eWf  an  omni- 
scient and  covenant-keeping  God  saw  to  be  best  for  them. 
To  desire  more,  or  other  than  this,  would  be  the  ex- 
treme both  of  folly  and  impiety. 

It  is  not  a  christian  but  an  infidel  opinion,  that  men 
cannot  be  favoured  without  a  large  measure  of  worldly 
prosperity.  The  christian  doctrine,  taught  too  by  some 
of  the  best  heathen  moralists,  is,  that  the  Deity  not  only 
may,  but  often  in  fact  does,  curse  with  prosperity,  and 
bless  with  adversity.  Those  who  are  ultimately  the 
most  prospered  and  honoured,  even  in  this  world,  are 
frequently  prepared  for  it,  by  a  most  painful  training 
in  the  school  of  adversity.  It  was  so  with  Moses,  with 
Job,  with  Joseph,  with  Jeptha,  with  David ;  and  with 
hundreds  of  others  in  every  age  of  the  world.  Men, 
indeed,  are  seldom  qualified  either  for  very  eminent 
usefulness,  or  for  the  best  enjoyment  of  prosperity,  till 
they  have  learned  humility  and  self  command,  from 
affliction  and  disappointment ;  and  fortitude,  activity  and 
perseverance,  from  contending  with  enemies  and  ad- 
verse events.  A  man,  therefore,  is  not  hastily  to  con- 
elude  that  he  will  never  be  prosperous,  because  pros- 
perity has  long  been  denied  him.  The  w\ay  may  only 
be  preparing  to  render  him  far  more  happy  and  honour- 
able, even  in  this  life,  than  he  could  have  been  if  he  had 
never  seen  adversity.  But  however  this  may  be,  if  we 
faithfully  acknowledge  God  in  all  our  ways,  he  will  in- 
variably so  direct  our  paths  as  shall  be  most  for  our 
benefit  on  the  whole.     For  '^  we  know  that  all  things 


46  DISCOURSE  11. 

work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  God,  to  them 
who  are  the  called  according  to  his  purpose — For  our 
light  affliction  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for 
us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory ; 
while  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at 
the  things  which  are  not  seen  :  for  the  things  which  are 
seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen 
are  eternal — For  all  things  are  yours  :  Whether  Paul, 
or  Apollos,  or  Cephas,  or  the  world,  or  life,  or  death, 
or  things  present,  or  things  to  come  ;  all  are  yours ; 
and  ye  are  Christ's  ;  and  Christ  is  God's.'^ 

It  now  remains  to  make  a  practical  application  of  the 
subject.     And — 

1.  It  is  obvious  to  remark,  after  what  has  been  said^ 
that  a  large  proportion  of  nominal  christians,  live  hab- 
itually in  the  neglect,  or  violation,  of  one  of  the  plainest 
dictates  of  the  religion  in  which  they  have  been  educa- 
ted. So  far  are  they  from  acknowledging  God  in  all 
their  ways,  that  they  acknowledge  him  in  none  of  their 
ways.  Instead  of  looking  to  him  to  direct  their  paths, 
they  never  think  of  divine  direction,  and  look  only  to 
themselves.  The  particular  providence  of  God,  than 
which  our  Saviour  himself  taught  no  doctrine  more 
plainly,  these  persons,  who  call  themselves  christians, 
overlook,  deny,  or  ridicule.  The  duty  of  prayer,  as 
grounded  on  that  doctrine,  they,  of  course,  never  per- 
form, or  attempt.  "  God  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts.'^ 
They  think  not  of  Him,  either  as  their  future  judge  and 
rewarder,  or  as  their  present  benefactor  and  protector. 


DISCOURSE  H.  47 

Such  men  are  unhappy  examples  of  the  justice  of  the 
remark,  that  the  professors  of  all  false  religions,  act  up- 
on their  avowed  principles  with  far  greater  consistency 
and  exactness,  than  many  professors  of  the  true  religion 
act  upon  theirs.  It  is,  indeed,  melancholy  to  think, 
how  many  there  are,  under  the  light  of  the  gospel, 
whom  our  text  and  subject  most  pointedly  reprove ; 
who  have  even  less  sense  of  their  dependence  on  God, 
tlian  Heathen  and  Mahometans  ;  wdio  never  yet  seri- 
ously asked  counsel  of  God,  or  sought  his  aid  and  bles- 
sing, in  any  of  their  concerns.  If  I  speak  in  the  hearing 
of  any  of  this  character,  let  them  be  entreated,  by  every 
consideration  both  of  duty  and  interest,  to  turn  from  a 
course  of  such  dreadful  impiety  and  danger.  Hence  I 
remark — 

2.  That  those  who  have  not  succeeded  in  their  en- 
terprizes  in  life,  should  be  led  by  this  subject  to  inquire, 
whether  they  may  not  have  failed  because  they  did  not 
acknowledge  God  in  all  their  ways.  Although  it  be 
unquestionable  that  what  is  called  worldly  prosperity, 
is  not  invariably  the  allotment  of  the  pious,  still  it  is 
also  true,  as  we  have  seen,  that  it  may  be  denied  to 
others  because  thev  have  never  suitablv  sousrht  the 
divine  blessing  on  their  undertakings  and  endeavours. 
He  whose  memory  and  conscience  can  inform  him,  that 
his  plans  and  efforts  to  acquire  worldly  wealth,  or 
influence,  have  not  been  formed  with  a  suitable  sense 
of  his  dependence  on  God  for  success,  and  with  frequent 
prayer  for  the  divine  blessing  on  them,  has  no  reason  to 


48  DISCOURSE  11. 

wonder  if  they  have  all  been  blasted  and  proved  abor- 
tive ;  though  lawful  in  themselves,  and  though  prose- 
cuted with  diligence  and  discretion.  Persons  of  this 
description  should  be  apprised  that  their  best  interests, 
their  eternal  Avell  being,  may  require  that  disappoint- 
ment should  continue,  till  it  shall  lead  them  to  the  God 
whom  they  have  forgotten.  When  this  shall  be  effect- 
ed, and  their  future  and  everlasting  felicity  be  secured, 
a  merciful  God  may  see  meet  to  change  his  dealings 
with  them,  and  to  allow  them  a  larger  portion  than 
they  have  yet  enjoyed  of  temporal  prosperity.  Every 
consideration,  therefore,  of  what  they  owe  to  their 
Maker  and  to  themselves,  urges  them  to  unfeigned  re- 
pentance for  their  past  delinquency,  and  to  an  immedi- 
ate and  cordial  performance  of  the  duty  they  have  so 
long  neglected. 

But  I  feel  constrained  to  say  farther,  that  I  am  verily 
persuaded  there  is  scarcely  any  duty  w^hich  is  more  im- 
perfectly performed,  even  by  real  christians,  than  that 
wdiich  I  now  inculcate.  Alas  !  how  few  are  they  who 
daily  live  with  a  proper  regard  to  the  all- seeing  and  all- 
disposing  God !  who  feelingly  recognize  their  need  of 
his  counsel  and  superintending  care,  in  all  they  do  or 
attempt ;  in  lying  down  and  rising  up  ;  in  going  out 
and  coming  in  ;  in  every  situation,  or  company  in  which 
they  may  be  found.  It  is  no  violation  of  truth  or  char- 
ity, though  is  seems  a  paradox  in  religion,  to  say  that 
there  is  much  forgetfulness  of  God,  much  implicit  denial 
of  his  presence,  providence,  power,   and  faithfulness — 


^^:';r^> 


DISCOURSE  IL  49 

in  a  word^  much  practical  atheism,  even  among  those 
who  are  not  wholly  destitute  of  real  piety.  Truly, 
in  this  view  of  the  subject,  the  most  of  us  have  need  to 
be  deeply  abased,  and  henceforth  to  endeavour  to  act 
nfore  as  becomes  the  christian  profession,  more  as  "  see- 
ing Him  who  is  invisible — and  in  whom  we  live  and 
move  and  have  our  being.'' 

3.  The  subject  ought  greatly  to  alarm  those  who 
have  been  prosperous  in  the  world,  without  acknowl- 
edging God.  Men  are  sometimes  seen  who  lite- 
rally and  habitually  ^^  forget  God,''  violate  his  laws, 
despise  his  institutions,  and  blaspheme  his  holy  name ; 
who,  notwithstanding,  acquire  wealth,  rise  to  honour, 
or  obtain  fame  and  distinction.  Sometimes  they  are 
even  hardened  in  their  impiety,  by  their  success.  They 
consider  and  proclaim  it  as  a  proof,  that  the  declara- 
tions and  demands  of  religion  are  false  and  vain.  Their 
apparent  happiness,  also,  sometimes  operates  as  a  griev- 
ous discouragement  and  temptation  to  the  godly  ;  es- 
pecially in  a  season  of  great  adversity  or  affliction. 
Such  we  know  was  the  case  of  Asaph,  recorded  in  the 
seventy-third  Psalm ;  and  similar  cases  have  doubtless 
occurred  in  every  subsequent  age.  But  the  solution  of 
the  difficulty  which  Asaph  obtained,  is  that  which,  at 
all  times,  should  satisfy  the  pious  :  and  at  all  times  it 
should  likewise  alarm — if  indeed  any  thing  can  alarm — 
these  proud  and  hardened  abusers  of  the  goodness  and 
grace  of  God.     Hear  their  fearful  destiny  announced 

by  the  holv  man  whose  ^^  feet  were  almost  gone,  whose 

H 


^0  DISCOURSE  II, 

steps  had  well  nigh  slipped/^  because  he  was  ^'  envious 
at  the  foolish  when  he  saw  the  prosperity  of  the  wick- 
ed/^ '^  I  went/'  says  he^  ^^  into  the  sanctuary  of  God  ; 
then  understood  I  their  end.  Surely  thou  didst  set 
them  in  slippery  places ;  thou  castedst  them  down  into 
destruction.  How  are  they  brought  into  desolation  as 
in  a  moment !  they  are  utterly  consumed  with  terrors. 
As  a  dream  when  one  awaketh ;  so^  O  Lord,  when  thou 
awakest,  thou  shalt  despise  their  image."  Yes,  breth- 
ren, we  have  only  to  think  on  the  end  of  such  men,  and 
they  will  no  longer  be  regarded  with  envy,  but  with 
horror.  The  eminence  from  which  they  fall  will  only 
serve  to  plunge  them  the  deeper  into  perdition.  The 
God  of  providence,  by  permitting  these  abandoned  men 
to  acquire  wealth,  or  power,  or  fame,  has  shown  con- 
spicuously of  how  little  estimation  are  those  things  in 
his  sight.*  Yet,  as  all  worldly  distinctions  are  his  gifts^ 
and  ought  to  be  employed  in  his  service  and  to  his 
glory,  the  abuse  of  them  to  his  dishonour,  will  awfully 
aggravate  the  final  condemnation  of  their  abusers.  Un- 
less the  deepest  repentance,  and  an  earnest  application  to 
the  all  atoning  blood  of  Christ  prevent,  they  will  eternal- 
ly wish  that  the  most  abject  state  of  poverty  and  contempt 
had  been  their  lot  in  life  ;  rather  than  that  they  should 
have  gone  to  the  place  of  torment,  chargeable  with 
insulting  their  Maker  by  means  of  his  own  bounty,  with 
resisting  his  proffered  mercy,  and  with  injuring  others 
while  they  ruined  their  own  souls. 

*  See  note  E  at  the  end  of  the  Tolurae. 


DISCOURSE  II.  51 

4.  They,  on  tlie  contrary,  who  have  acknowledged 
God  in  all  their  ways,  and  yet  have  not  enjoyed  wealth, 
or  honour,  or  power ;  but  have  seen  much  affliction,  or 
poverty,  or  disappointment,  may  learn  from  this  sub- 
ject,  and  especially   in  contrast  with  that  view  of  it 
which  we  have  just  taken,  that  they  have  no  reason  to 
be  discontented.     They  may  see  that  the  statement,  in 
the  doctrinal  part  of  this  discourse,  that  the  promise 
of  God  to  them  has  not  failed,  was  made  on  good  grounds 
—that  He  is  not  dealing  with  them  in  his  displeasure, 
but  in  covenant  faithfulness.     In  some  instances,  as  we 
have  remarked,  the  existing  adversity  may  be  intended 
only  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  safe  and  more  perfect 
enjoyment  of  prosperity  in  this  life.     But  in  cases  where 
this  is  not,  and  cannot  be  realized,  still  the  adversity 
experienced  shall  assuredly  be  blest ;  so  blest,  that  in 
a  future  and  better  world,  every  glorified  child  of  sor- 
row, shall  thank  God  for   every  disappointment,  and 
every  pain  that  was  here  endured ;  because  it  will  then 
be  found  that  it  has  enhanced  the  ineffable  and  eternal 
bliss  of  heaven.     To  every  suffering  saint,  therefore,  it 
belongs  to  join  in  the  triumphant  language  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, connected  with  the  doom  of  the  ungodly,  already 
recited — "  Nevertheless,   I  am  continually  with  thee  ; 
thou  hast  holden  me  by  my  right  hand.     Thou  shalt 
guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterward  receive  me 
to  glory.     Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  and  there 
is  none  on  earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee.     My  flesh 
and  my  heart  faileth,   but   God  is  the  strength  of  my 
heart  and  my  portion  forever." 


52  DISCOURSE  II. 

5.  Finally ;  I  wish,  for  a  few  moments,  to  apply 
this  subject  to  those  youth  of  my  particular  charge, 
who  are  about  to  leave  the  place  of  their  education  ; 
and  to  the  most  of  whom  I  shall  probably  never  have 
another  opportunity  to  speak  publickly  on  the  subjects 
of  religion  and  morals. 

My  young  friends  ! 

I  have  already  directed  your  attention,  as  you  know, 
to  a  system  of  advices  adapted  to  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances in  which  you  now  stand,   by  a  man   eminently 
qualified  to  give  counsel  to  the  young. ^     These  advi- 
ces  you  have   carefully  treasured  in   your   memories, 
that  they  may  be  ready  for  use,   as  circumstances  may 
demand,  through  the  whole  of  your  future  lives.     After 
taking  care  that  this  should  be  accomplished,   my  chief 
I'emrjning  concern  was,  to  present  to  you  on  this  inter- 
esting  occasion,    some    one    great    and    comprehensive 
truth,  easily  understood,  and  not  easily  forgotten,  which 
should,   by   itself,    embody    every    particular    advice. 
And  such  a  truth,  precisely,  I  am  well  persuaded,  is 
that  which  our  text  contains — ^^  In  all  your  ways  ac- 
knowledge God,  and  He  shall  direct  your  paths.''     Re- 
gard this  sacred  maxim,  in  the  manner  that  has  been 
recommended,  and  all  will  be  well.     It  will  guide  you  in 
safety  through  this  world,  and  conduct  you  with  cer- 
tainty to  a  better.     To  this,  therefore,  at  parting  from 
you,   I  earnestly  and  tenderly  exhort  you.     If  any  of 
you  have  hitherto  neglected  the  duty,  begin  its  per- 

*  See  note  F  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


DISCOURSE  II.  53 

formance  immediately,  and  continue  in  it  while  you 
live.  Keep  it  always  in  mind,  that  you  must  obtain  the 
divine  direction  and  blessing,  if  ever  you  are  truly 
happy,  prosperous  or  honourable ;  and  ask,  therefore, 
for  these  inestimable  favours,  in  daily  and  fervent 
prayer. 

Bear  with  me — for  I  am  anxious  for  your  happiness 
— while  I  press  upon  you,  a  little  farther,  some  of  the 
leading  ideas  already  suggested  as  general  truths. — 
When  you  are  about  to  enter  on  any  undertaking  or 
enterprise,  which  will  deeply  affect  your  character, 
happiness  or  usefulness,  then  let  your  sense  of  depend- 
ance  be  peculiarly  awake  and  active ;  and  in  special 
exercises  of  devotion  look  to  God  for  his  omnipotent 
assistance,  protection  and  blessing.  Whenever  you 
are  at  a  loss  in  regard  to  any  important  point  of  duty, 
endeavour  to  ascertain  it  by  using  the  means  which 
you  have  heard  detailed  in  this  discourse.  In  this 
manner  make  up  your  minds  decisively  and  firmly  ;  and 
then  go  forward  with  cheerfulness  and  determined  res- 
olution ; — believing  that  having  acknowledged  God, 
according  to  his  commandment,  he  is  directing,  and  will 
continue  to  direct,  your  paths. 

With  some  of  you,  probably,  the  choice  of  a  profession 
for  life,  will  not  be  a  matter  of  much  difficulty.  It  has, 
perhaps,  already  been  made  by  your  parents,  or  fixed 
by  your  own  inclination  and  deliberate  preference.  If 
so,  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  question  farther  its  suit- 
ableness for  you ;  since  the  supposition  is,  that  it  is 


54  DISCOURSE  II. 

lawful  in  itself.  But  with  others,  the  choice  of  a  pro-^ 
fession  may  be  a  subject  of  great  difficulty  and  peculiar 
embarrassment.  To  such  I  have  to  say,  that  theirs 
is  one  of  the  cases,  to  which  the  directions  I  have  given 
for  determining  the  matter  of  duty,  when  it  is  both 
doubtful  and  important,  is  peculiarly  applicable.  Let 
them  faithfully  pursue  the  method  that  has  been  point- 
ed out,  and  their  choice  will  ultimately  be  right,  and 
their  decision  satisfactory.  And  I  earnestly  exhort 
all  of  you,  without  exception,  to  enter  on  your  profes- 
sional pursuits  with  a  distinct  and  devout  recognition 
of  the  providence  and  grace  of  God,  as  the  sources 
from  which  you  are  to  derive  direction,  assistance  and 
success. 

When  a  class  of  youth  who  have  passed  through 
a  course  of  liberal  studies,  are  leaving  the  place  of  their 
education,  it  is  a  most  interesting  thought  that  we  prob- 
ably see  in  them,  a  number  of  those  who  are,  hereaf- 
ter, to  have  great  influence  on  society,  both  in  pri- 
vate and  in  publick  life.  Such,  my  beloved  pupils,  I 
hope  and  trust  is  your  destination.  And  in  the  pros- 
pect of  it,  I  now  solemnly  counsel  and  charge  you,  to 
use  all  the  influence  which  you  shall  ever  possess,  in 
favour  of  knowledge,  virtue  and  piety ; — particularly, 
that  by  your  example,  as  well  as  by  your  words,  you  en- 
deavour to  engage  others  to  acknowledge  God.  The 
neglect  of  this  duty  by  communities,  both  small  and 
great,  as  well  as  by  individuals,  is  often  followed  by 
the  manifest  frowns  of  Heaven,     Families,  colleges,  leg- 


DISCOURSE  II.  55 

islative  bodies,  fleets,  armies  and  nations — the  sneer  of 
the  infidel  notwithstanding — have  all  furnished  exam- 
ples of  this  important  and  awful  truth.  Let  the  whole 
weight  of  your  character  and  influence,  therefore,  in  all 
your  intercourse  with  the  world,  be  employed  to  lead 
men  to  the  due  and  rational  acknowledgment  of  God, 
In  this  way  you  may  perform  a  service  incalculably 
beneficial  to  mankind — to  the  interests  of  good  morals^ 
of  social  happiness  and  of  genuine  piety. 

This,  then,  is  my  last  counsel.  With  this  I  leave 
you  in  the  hands  of  our  common  God  and  Father ;  most 
devoutly  praying  that  his  providence  may  shield  you, 
and  his  grace  and  favour  accompany  you,  through  the 
whole  journey  of  life  ;  and  that  I  may  meet  you  all 
"with  joy  and  not  with  grief,^'  at  that  dread  tribunal 
before  which  we  are  soon  to  appear.     Amen. 


DISCOURSE  III. 


THE  GOOD  MAN'S  PROTECTION  AND  SUPPORT. 


I.  PETER  III.  13,  U. 

'^  And  who  is  he  that  will  harm  you^  if  ye  be  followers  of 
that  which  is  good  ?  But  and  if  ye  suffer  for  righ- 
teousness^  sakcy  happy  are  yeP 

J_N  the  context  the  Apostle  Peter  delineates  and 
enjoins  the  virtues  of  the  christian  life.  To  enforce 
what  he  says,  he  urges  three  considerations  ;  the 
happiness  of  a  good  life ;  the  approbation  and  protec- 
tion of  God  ;  and  the  influence  of  the  christian  tem- 
per and  deportment  in  preserving  its  possessor  from 
much  that  would  harm  him,  and  in  comforting  him  when 
he  suffers  for  righteousness'  sake. 

The  last  of  these  considerations  is  contained  in  the 
text,  and  will  form  the  subject  of  the  ensuing  discourse. 
The  three  considerations,  indeed,  are  very  closely  re- 
lated, and  in  a  measure  involve  each  other ;  so  that  in 
discussing  the  last,  the  two  former  will,  of  necessity,  be 
brought  into  view. 

''  Who  is  he  that  will  harm  you,  if  ye  be  followers  of 

that  which  is  good?  But  and  if  ye  suffer  for  righteous- 

ness'   sake,   happy  are  ve."     This  passage,  though  di- 

I 


58  DISCOURSE  III. 

vided  into  two  parts,  or  verses,  in  our  translation  of  the 
scriptures,  is,  in  the  original,  a  single  sentence,  or  pe- 
riod, and  ought  to  be  so  considered,  if  we  would  per- 
ceive its  full  force  and  beauty.  It  contains,  you  will 
observe,  a  condition,  an  interrogatory,  and  an  affirma- 
tion. The  condition  is,  the  possession  of  a  certain 
character,  ''  if  ye  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good.'' 
The  interrogatory — who  will  harm  the  possessors  of 
this  character?  And,  the  affirmation — that  if  they 
even  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake,  still  they  are 
happy. 

After  speaking  to  each  of  these  points  in  order,  it 
will  remain  to  apply  the  subject. 

I.  We  are,  first  of  all,  to  notice  the  condition,  on 
which  the  interrogatory  and  affirmation  in  the  text  are 
grounded,  namely,  that  it  must  be  the  character  of  the 
parties  spoken  of,  that  they  are  followers  of  that  which 
is  good. 

The  original  words  which  our  translators  render — 
'^  if  ye  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good,"  literally  sig- 
nify— **  if  ye  be  imitators  of  him  that  is  good,"  or  "  of 
the  thing  that  is  good."  Accordingly  Doddridge  hesi- 
tates not  to  translate  and  paraphrase  the  words  thus — 
^'  Who  shall  have  the  ability  or  inclination  to  hurt  you^ 
if  ye  imitate  Him  who  is  supremely  good  ;  if  you  copy 
after  the  benevolence  of  the  Divine  Being,  and  of  your 
great  Master,  whose  whole  life  was  so  illustrious  an 
example  of  the  most  diffusive  generosity  and  goodness 
to  his  followers  ?"     Other  translators  have  followed  this 


DISCOURSE  III.  59 

aonstruction,  and  I  doubt  not,  for  myself,  that  it  gives 
the  true  sense  of  the  passage.  It  seems  to  be  equiva- 
lent to  the  expression  of  the  apostle  Paul — "Be  ye 
followers/'  or  imitators  "  of  God,  as  dear  children.'' 

The  divine  Saviour  was  both  God  and  man,  and  in 
him  w^e  have  a  perfect  example.  By  setting  this 
example  constantly  before  us,  we  shall  have  a  faultless 
copy  to  imitate.  The  perfection  of  the  copy,  indeed, 
we  shall  but  imperfectly  approximate ;  and  yet  by  aiming 
at  it  continually  we  may  attain  an  excellence  that  oth- 
erwise we  should  never  reach.  Subordinately  to  this, 
we  should,  also,  be  imitators  of  those  mere  men  whose 
conduct,  in  various  characters  and  circumstances,  has 
been  most  exemplary  and  laudable.  The  apostle  Paul 
exhorts  the  Corinthians — '^  Be  ye  follow^ers  of  me, 
even  as  I  also  am  of  Christ."  And  elsewhere  he  says — 
*'  Be  ye  followers  of  them  who,  through  faith  and  pa- 
tience, inherit  the  promises."  To  propose  to  ourselves 
the  most  finished  patterns  of  excellence,  in  the  various 
relations  and  occupations  of  life,  has  been  long  and 
often  recommended  as  one  of  the  best  adapted  means 
for  rising  high  in  the  scale  of  virtue  and  improvement. 

As  St.  Peter,  in  the  text,  is  speaking  of  that  which 
w^as  to  have  influence  on  others,  and  even  on  enemies, 
it  is  manifest  that  he  must  have  had  a  direct  reference 
to  visible  deportment.  Yet  I  think  it  of  the  greatest 
importance  here,  to  remark,  that  the  conduct  which  the 
apostle  recommends,  must  be  derived  from  that  genu- 
ine  christian    principle^  which   has   its   spring  in   the 


60  DISCOURSE  III. 

heart ;  and  that  it  can  flow  from  no  other  source.  No 
other  heart  than  one  which  is  renewed  and  sanctified  by 
divine  grace,  will  have  those  evil  passions  which  make 
a  man  the  tormentor  of  himself,  as  well  as  the  injurer 
of  others,  effectually  subdued,  or  rather,  in  a  measure, 
eradicated,  and  dispositions  of  an  opposite  nature,  fa- 
vourable to  inward  peace  and  enjoyment,  and  to  out^ 
ward  kindness  and  beneficence,  implanted  in  their  room. 
Besides ;  though  the  spirit  and  wisdom  of  the  world 
dictate  the  same  practice  as  christian  principle,  to  a 
certain  extent ;  both,  for  example,  requiring  veracity, 
integrity  and  courtesy ;  yet  in  certain  points,  and 
those  very  material  to  our  present  purpose,  they 
not  only  vary,  but  are  directly  opposite  to  each  other. 
The  spirit  of  the  gospel  requires  humility,  self-denial, 
patience  and  forbearance  5  and  forbids  every  species  of 
revenge.  The  spirit  of  the  world,  on  the  contrary, 
not  merely  permits  a  proud  and  vindictive  temper  and 
practice,  but,  on  certain  occasions,  enjoins  them.  They, 
therefore,  w^ho  would  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good ; 
'—they  who  would  be  imitators  of  Christ,  and  of  the 
most  distinguished  worthies  of  our  race  ;•— they  who 
would  take  the  whole  revealed  system  for  their  guide ; 
—they,  in  a  word,  who  would  really  come  up  to  the 
demands  of  the  condition  in  the  text — must  not  be 
'^  conformed  to  this  world,  but  transformed  by  the  re- 
newing of  their  mind.''  They  must  be  vital,  practical 
christians ;  and  the  more  they  are  inwardly  sanctified, 
the  more  will  they  be  outwardly  what  the  text  requires. 


DISCOURSE  III.  61 

But,  having  considered  the  fountain  as  purified,  let  us 
trace  a  little  the  wholesome  and  pleasant  streams,  which 
it  will  be  sure  to  send  forth  ;  and  which  are  so  refresh- 
ing and  dehghtful  in  the  journey  of  human  life,  that 
none  but  the  most  perverted  and  depraved  can  fail  to 
relish,  admire  and  commend  them.  The  lives  of  the 
Lest  men,  indeed,  do  not  exhibit  all  the  proper  effects  of 
true  christian  principle.  Sanctified  but  in  part,  their 
practice  is  but  imperfectly  conformed  to  the  standard  of 
duty  which  they  sincerely  and  supremely  love,  and  by 
which  they  honestly  desire  and  endeavour  to  regulate  their 
conduct.  But,  altliough  christian  practice  is  never  a// that 
christian  principle  is  calculated  to  make  it,  still  the  proper 
tendency  of  tliat  principle  ought  to  be  clearly  shown. 
Nor  should  we  make  too  great  an  allowance  for  human 
infirmity,  lest  we  encourage  and  increase  an  evil  which 
we  ought  only  to  deplore.  The  apostle  evidently  con- 
templated in  the  text  an  exemplary  exhibition  of  the 
christian  character. 

With  these  remarks  in  view,  let  it  be  observed,  that 
the  follower  of  that  which  is  good,  he  who  truly  endea- 
vours to  imitate  Christ,  will,  in  some  good  measure,  ex- 
emplify such  a  system  of  practice  as  the  following — He 
will  strive  to  perform  every  duty  which  he  owes  to  God 
and  man,  in  a  manner,  at  once  the  most  exact  and  the 
most  acceptable.  Although  sincerely  and  devoutly 
pious,  so  that  he  would  sooner  sacrifice  his  life  than 
his  religion;  although  he  will  neither  deny  nor  be 
ashamed  of  Christ  and  his  cause,  in   any  company  or 


62  DISCOURSE  III. 

situation  in  which  you  can  place  him^  nor  consent  to 
modify  the  pure  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  so  as  to  ac^ 
commodate  them  to  a  corrupt  taste ;  although  he  will, 
on  all  suitable  occasions,  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints ;  yet  he  will  do  all  this  in  the 
most  inoffensive  manner  that  he  can  devise.  He  will 
be  careful  to  profess  and  defend  religion  with  a  gospel 
temper  ;  and  will  return  good  for  evil,  blessing  for  curs- 
ing. He  will  be  watchful  to  do  nothing  that  shall  cause 
his  good  to  be  evil  spoken  of;  and  will  therefore  avoid 
austerity,  moroseness,  harshness,  uncharitableness  and 
arrogance.  In  a  word,  he  will  seek  lo  render  the  gos- 
pel, in  its  purity,  as  little  offensive  as  it  can  be  render- 
ed to  those  who  have  not  yet  cordially  embraced  it ; 
feeling  the  obligation  and  the  importance  of  his  Lord's 
injunction — '*  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  mf  n  that 
they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven."  In  discharging  the  general  duties 
w^hich  he  owes  to  his  brethren  of  mankind,  the  follower  of 
that  which  is  good,  will  be  just,  and  fair,  and  equitable, 
and  kind,  and  liberal,  and  merciful.  He  will  obey  the 
precept,  ^*  Owe  no  man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  anoth- 
er.*' He  will  never  circumvent,  nor  defraud,  nor  de- 
ceive, nor  deal  hardly  with  any  man.  He  will  consci- 
entiously and  faithfully  perform  every  engagement  that 
he  makes,  and  never  betray  the  trust  or  confidence 
reposed  in  him. 

In  the  discharge  of  all  relative  and  official  duties,  he 
will  be  very  exemplary.     He  will  be  a  dutiful  son,  a 


DISCOURSE  III.  63 

tender  husband,  an  affectionate  father,  a  reasonable 
master,  a  kind  neighbour,  a  faithful  friend,  a  good  citi- 
zen, an  upright  magistrate.  He  will  be  liberal  of  his 
substance ;  will  give  freely  to  the  poor,  and  patronize  all 
schemes  for  the  promotion  of  knowledge,  of  piety,  and 
of  public  utility.  He  will  be  a  peace- maker  ;  not  only 
avoiding  broils  and  contentions  himself,  but  endeavour- 
ing to  prevent  them,  or  to  heal  them,  among  others. 
He  will  never  do  an  ill  office  to  any  one ;  but  will 
love  to  serve  and  promote  the  interest  of  others,  when- 
ever he  finds  it  in  his  power.  He  will  be  a  man  of 
sympathy ;  he  Avill  enter  into  the  feelings  of  others,  rejoic- 
ing with  those  that  rejoice,  and  weeping  with  those  that 
weep.  He  will  be  kind,  and  obliging,  in  all  his  deportment. 
In  every  way  that  he  can,  and  in  every  place  in  which 
he  may  find  himself,  he  will  seek  to  do  good  ;  for  this 
is  what  he  loves  ;  he  follows  it ;  he  is  devoted  to  it ; 
for  the  supposition  is,  that  he  is  like  his  Saviour,  who 
^^went  about  doing  good.'^ 

II.  Brethren,  can  we  now  fail  to  feel  the  force  of 
the  interrogatory  which  forms  the  second  point  to  be 
considered?  Might  not  the  apostle  well  ask  who  is  he 
that  will  harm  such  a  man  as  has  just  been  described  ? 
Will  he  not  be  likely  to  have  more  friends  than  any 
other  man  ?  Will  he  not  often  convert  enemies  into 
friends?  And  will  he  not  sometimes  shame,  confound 
and  silence,  those  whom  he  cannot  conciliate  ?  Will  not 
his  enemies  find  it  difficult  to  assign  a  plausible  pre- 
tence to  harm  him  ?  Nay,  will  they  not  find  it  difficult 


64  DISCOURSE  IIL 

to  get  at  him  to  do  him  harm  ?  Will  not  his  temper 
and  conduct  become  a  broad  shield,  to  intercept,  or 
turn  aside,  the  shafts  of  malignity  and  baseness  ?  To 
all  these  inquiries,  and  many  more  of  a  similar  kind, 
which  carry  their  answer  along  with  them,  the  single 
question  in  the  text  seems  naturally  to  give  rise. 

The  apostle,  indeed,  does  immediately  intimate — and 
this  we  are  afterwards  to  consider — that  the  man  we 
have  described,  may,  after  all,  be  called  to  suffer.  Yet 
the  distinct,  and  clear,  and  strong  import  of  the  text  is, 
that  this  followxr  or  imitator  of  good  and  goodness, 
will  effectually  secure  himself  against  much  harm ;  that 
his  excellent  temper  and  exemplary  life  will,  in  a  very 
high  degree,  prove  a  protection  to  him.  To  illustrate 
this,  I  will  a  little  extend  the  ideas  already  suggested; 
and  bring  into  view  some  additional  considerations. 

1.  The  follower  or  imitator  of  that  which  is  good, 
will  not  harm  himself,  as  bad  men  do,  by  cherishing 
those  feelings  and  passions  which  are,  in  their  very 
nature,  painful  and  tormenting.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
men  inflict  upon  themselves  a  very  large  proportion  of 
all  their  sufferings.  Take  away  all  the  miseries  which 
arise  from  repining  against  God,  his  providence,  his 
dispensations,  his  allotments  ;  all  that  are  produced  by 
the  fear  of  his  displeasure,  both  here  and  hereafter  ; 
all  that  spring  from  discontent,  from  peevishness,  from 
mortified  pride,  from  envy,  from  resentment,  hatred, 
and  the  desire  of  revenge  ;  all  that  are  created  by  cov- 
etousness,  by  avarice,  by  ungratified  ambition,  and  by 


BiscounsE  m.  65 

disappointed  vanity  ; — in  a  word^  by  all  the  unhallowed 
and  malignant  passions — Take  them    all  away,    and 
think  what  a  mass  of  wretchedness  you  have  destroyed* 
Think  how  great  a  proportion  these  bad  feelings  and 
passions  make  of  all  that  does  harm  to  human  enjoy- 
ment.    Think  how  comparatively  blessed  a  man  would 
be  who  should  never  feel  one  of  them^  or  who,  having 
felt  them^  should  never  feel  them  more^     Would  he  not 
by  this,   have  more  done  to  make  him   happy,   than 
could  be  done  in  every  other  way  ?  Assuredly  he  would. 
Remember,    then,    that  he  who  is  a   follower  of  that 
which  is  good,  is  this  very  man*     To  see  that  he  is  so^ 
you  have  only  to  recollect  his  character,  as  already  giv- 
en.     In    proportion    as   he   possesses   that   character, 
he  will  avoid  all  the  harm,  the  entire  mass  of  misery^ 
to  which  your  attention  has  just  be^n  directed.   And  the 
sole  reason  that  he  does  not  avoid  it  completely,  is  that 
he  does  not  perfectly  possess  the  character*     But  in 
the  degree  in  which  it  is,  in  fact,   often  possessed,  it 
effects  much,  very  much.     It  preserves  the  possessor 
from   being  a   self  tormentor,   the  most  incessant  and 
most  cruel  of  all  tormentors* 

Nor  is  the  happy  influence  of  this  character  merely 
negative.  It  not  only  exterminates  or  suppresses  bad 
passions  and  emotions,  but  it  implants  those  which  are 
good  and  productive  of  the  highest  inward  delight* 
Let  inspiration  instruct  us  here.  "  The  fruit  of  the 
spirit    is    love,  joy,   peace,    long-suffering,   gentleness, 

goodness,   faith,  meekness,   temperance/*'     No   human 

K 


66  BISCOURSE  IIL 

bosom  can  be  so  happy  as  that  in  which  these  heavenly 
aJRTections  are  warm  and  active  :  and  in  the  bosom  of 
him  who  is  a  follower  of  that  which  is  good;  and  in 
his  only,  they  are  actually  found. 

2.  As  the  temper  and  dispositions  of  the  follower  of 
that  which  is  good,  preserve  him  from  harming  himself, 
so,  also,  they  save  him  from  provoking  others  to  injure 
him.  There  certainly  are  some  injuries  which  are  en- 
tirely unprovoked.  But  in  a  large  majority  of  cases 
they  are,  in  a  degree,  invited;  or  at  least  some  oc- 
casion is  given  to  inflict  them.  Here,  for  exam- 
ple, is  a  man  of  an  overbearing  temper.  He  arro- 
gates to  himself  what  he  will  not  concede  to  others. 
He  is  determined  that  the  world  shall  bow  to  him,  and 
not  he  to  it.  But  the  world,  unhappily,  contains  too 
many  spirits  like  his  own.  They  rise  in  hostility 
against  him,  and  in  the  unequal  contest  he  is  vanquish- 
ed, humbled,  injured.  But  this  injury  he  plainly  pro- 
voked and  invited.  Had  religion  been  his  counsellor 
and  guide  ;  had  he  been  a  follower  of  that  which  is 
good,  who  is  he  that  would  have  harmed  him  ? 

Again ;  here  is  a  man  far  less  obnoxious  than  the 
one  just  described.  He  is  punctiliously  careful  never 
to  give  an  offence.  But  in  his  turn  he  is  resolved  never, 
passively,  to  receive  one.  He  holds  it  to  be  altogether 
beneath  a  man  of  spirit  to  suffer  the  smallest  affront  to 
go  unrevenged.  What  is  the  consequence  ?  He  is  often 
engaged  in  broils  and  contentions,  in  demanding  expla- 
nations, and  in  affairs  of  honour  5  till  at  last  he,  not  im- 


DISCOURSE  III.  67 

probably,  terminates  his  life  in  single  combat.  Now, 
had  this  man  been  a  follower  of  that  which  is  good, 
had  he  learned  to  forgive,  and  not  to  revenge,  who 
would  have  harmed  him  ?  How  much  more  peacefully 
w^ould  he  have  lived ;  and  how  much  more  happily 
would  he  have  died  ? 

3.  Closely  connected  with  the  last  particular  is  the 
consideration,  that  the  follower  of  that  which  is  good,  in 
addition  to  his  avoiding  every  thing  calculated  to  irri- 
tate others,  will  do  much  to  conciliate  them.  His  char- 
acter is  exactly  that  which  is  the  best  adapted  to  make 
others  love  him.  He  will  have  many  and  warm 
friends  ;  and,  if  he  live  long,  he  will,  in  instances  not  a 
few,  disarm  those  that  had  once  been  hostile.  All  men 
would  rather  have  friends  than  enemies.  Bad  men  are 
not  only  willing,  but  often  very  desirous,  to  have  the 
friendship  of  the  good,  because  it  is  both  useful  and 
honourable  to  them.  They  will,  therefore,  not  only  be 
ready  to  accept  the  friendship  of  an  amiable  and  excel- 
lent man,  but,  when  it  does  not  interfere  too  much  with 
their  passions  and  pursuits,  will  usually  make  some 
sacrifices  to  obtain  and  keep  it.  And  when  they  do 
not  go  even  this  length,  they  sometimes  choose,  from 
the  same  motive  of  self  interest,  not  to  appear  as  the 
open  and  avowed  enemies  of  such  a  man.  It  hurts 
themselves,  by  diminishing  their  influence  and  respect- 
ability. And  even  when  they  will  not  be  restrained ; 
when  they  either  secretly  or  openly  assail  him,  they 
©ften  find  it  impracticable  to  do  him  any  real  injury. 


ea  DiscorRSE  in. 

His  character  defends  him,  and  the  malignant  efforts  of 
his  enemies  only  recoil  upon  themselves. 

4,  As  the  character  we  consider  preserves  its  pos- 
sessor from  much  harm,  by  being  amiable  and  concili- 
atory, so,  it  is  productive  of  the  same  effect,  by  the 
dignity  which  it  confers,  and  the  awe  and  veneration 
which  it  inspires.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from  the 
truth  than  to  suppose,  that  to  follow  that  which  is  good, 
in  the  manner  we  have  described,  is  calculated  to  bring 
upon  him  who  does  it,  the  imputation  of  pusillanimity, 
meanness,  or  cowardice ;  and  to  cause  him  rather  to  be 
despised  and  insulted,  than  respected  and  feared.  If 
the  character  be  consistently  maintained  ;  if  all  the  vir- 
tues which  belong  to  it  be  exhibited  in  their  just  har- 
mony and  proportion,  the  very  reverse  will  be  the 
effect  produced.  Mildness  and  majesty,  meekness  and 
dignity,  temper  and  firmness,  kindness  and  decision, 
aye  so  far  from  being  inconsistent,  that  they  are  always 
avixiliary  to  each  other.  The  genuine  character  we 
Ciontemplate  will,  therefore,  be  as  defensive  as  it  is  in-  • 
^locent  and  amiable.  Often  has  the  majesty  of  virtue 
overawed  the  profligate  and  profane,  and  been  a  protec- 
tion to  its  possessor.  Sinners  of  a  common  character 
^e  abashed  in  its  presence.  Ordinary  vice  blushes 
before  it,  and  skulks  into  concealment.  It  flees  from 
that  which  exposes  its  deformity,  by  contrast,  as  well 
as  by  verbal  reproof.  Guilt  is  naturally  timid,  and 
innocence  and  integrity  are  naturally  undaunted.  Guilt 
violates  conscience,  and  the  principles  of  honour  and 


DISCOURSE  m.  G9 

shame  ;  innocence  and  integrity  have  them  all  on  their 
side.  Hence,  when  bad  men  have  been  resolutely  bent 
on  offering  personal  violence,  or  insult,  to  the  follower 
of  that  which  is  good,  the  very  sight  and  presence  of 
the  good  man  has  sometimes  confounded  and  discon- 
certed them  utterly.  They  have  fled  from  him,  or 
humbled  themselves  before  him — "  Surely  never  man 
spake  like  this  man;"  said  the  discomfited  band  that 
had  been  sent  to  apprehend  our  blessed  Lord.  Herod, 
although  an  absolute  monarch  and  steeped  in  blood  and 
crime,  yet  feared  John  the  Baptist ;  for  a  time  heard 
him  gladly,  and  did  many  things  which  he  enjoined. 
Nor  was  it  till  the  WTetched  tyrant  was  inflamed  by 
wine,  intoxicated  with  mirth,  surrounded  by  his  cour- 
tiers, insnared  by  a  foolish  and  wicked  oath,  and  se- 
duced by  an  insidious  harlot,  that  he  could  be  persua- 
ded to  issue  the  murderous  mandate  to  destroy  John  : 
and  even  then  he  was  "  very  sorry"  for  what  his  false 
honour  drove  him  to  perpetrate.  So  much  is  vice  over- 
awed by  virtue  !  So  venerable  and  defensive  is  a  good 
man's  character ! 

5.  The  follower  of  that  which  is  good  will  escape 
much  harm,  because  he  will  have  no  connexion  with  the 
company,  the  places,  the  occasions,  and  the  practices, 
from  which  mischiefs  of  the  most  serious  kind  commonly 
arise. 

Examine  in  what  places,  and  on  what  occasions,  the 
most  calamitous  disasters  that  disturb  and  distress  do- 
mestic and  social  life  have  most  frequently  taken  their 


70  DISCOURSE  III. 

rise.  You  will  find  that  they  have  sprung  from  place* 
of  rioting  and  drunkenness,  chambering  and  wanton- 
ness ;  from  the  midnight  revel ;  from  lawless  or  exces- 
sive indulgence ;  or  from  the  company  and  counsels  of 
wicked  men.  The  gaol  and  the  gibbet  are  furnished 
from  tippling  houses,  and  taverns,  and  brothels,  and  the 
influence  of  vile  associates.  The  murders — for  murders 
they  strictly  are — which  are  committed  in  the  infernal 
practice  of  duelling,  may  often  be  traced  to  parties  of 
pleasure,  to  theatres,  to  harlots,  to  companies  and  con- 
versations where  the  spirits  are  unduly  excited,  and 
the  passions  inflamed  by  intemperance.  ^*  Who  hath 
wo  ?  w  ho  hath  sorrow  ?  who  hath  contentions  ?  who 
hath  babbling  ?  who  hath  wounds  without  cause  ?  who 
hath  redness  of  eyes?  They  that  tarry  long  at  the 
wine ;  they  that  go  to  seek  mixed  wine — At  the  last  it 
biteth  like  a  serpent,  and  stingeth  like  an  adder.'^  Ah  ! 
how  many  a  broken-hearted  parent,  how  many  a  discon- 
solate wife,  how  many  a  ruined  child,  has  been  indebt- 
ed to  scenes,  and  associates,  and  causes,  such  as  we 
have  here  noticed,  for  calamities  which,  to  the  end  of 
life,  they  have  had  to  lament,  without  being  able  to 
remove !  It  is  obvious,  without  remark,  that  from  this 
whole  host  of  harms  and  evils  the  follower  of  that  which 
is  good  will  be  absolutely  free,  and  completely  secured 
by  the  very  character  he  possesses. 

6.  Who  will  harm  the  follower  of  that  which  is  good, 
when  there  is  no  one  so  obedient  as  he  to  all  the  laws 
of  his  country;    and  so  observant  of  what  is  due  to 


DISCOURSE  TIL  71 

magistrates  and  superiors  ?  When  it  is  said — "  but 
and  if  ye  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake" — it  is  strongly 
intimated  that  a  good  man  will  suffer  for  nothing  else. 
He  will  never,  while  he  acts  in  character,  do  any  thing 
for  which  it  will  be  right  that,  from  the  hand  of  man,  he 
should  suffer.  For  he  will  obey  scrupulously  and  ex- 
actly every  known  law  of  his  country,  not  inconsistent 
with  the  laws  of  God  ;  and  this  not  merely  through 
fear,  but  also  "  for  conscience  sake.''  It  is  nothing 
to  him  though  he  could  violate  or  evade  a  law  of  the 
land,  without  the  possibility  of  discovery.  His  con- 
science gives  him  a  law  which  is  superior  to  all  others ; 
and  which  sanctions  all  others,  so  far  as  they  offer  no 
violation  to  itself.  When,  therefore,  human  laws  leave 
it  perfectly  in  his  power,  as  they  sometimes  may,  to 
defraud  or  injure  his  neighbour,  that  neighbour  is  still 
protected  by  the  good  man's  conscience.  He  will  not 
willingly  do  \\Tong  to  any  man,  whatever  opportunity 
or  ten;ptation  he  may  have  to  do  it. 

For  conscience  sake  he  will,  also,  obey  and  respect 
magistrates.  By  an  authority  which  is  supreme  with  him 
he  is  taught  to  regard  them  as  "  the  ordinance  of  God.*' 
He  will  therefore  "  render  to  all  their  dues ;  tribute  to 
whom  tribute  is  due,  custom  to  w  hom  custom,  fear  to  whom 
fear,  honour  to  whom  honour."  The  apostle,  brethren, 
seems  to  have  had  the  subject  of  this  particular  distinctly 
in  his  view  when  he  panned  the  text :  And  it  is  seen  at 
once,  that  no  individual  who  conscientiously  obeys  all 
the  laws  of  society,  demeans  himself  properly  to  all  his 


73  DISCOURSE  III. 

superiors^  and  is  also  extensively  charitable  and  benefi* 
cent,  ever  can  suffer  from  any  law,  or  magistracy,  or 
human  authority  whatsoever,  unless  he  suffer  unjustly. 
7.  I  close  this  part  of  the  subject  with  observing, 
that  the  follower  of  that  which  is  good  will  be  saved 
from  much  harm  by  the  special  providence  and  protec- 
tion of  God.  This  is  unquestionably  a  doctrine  of  holy 
scripture.  The  providence  of  God,  indeed,  extends  to 
all  men — nay  to  all  his  creatures,  whether  animate  or 
inanimate.  But  he  is  the  covenant  God  of  his  people 
only ;  and  to  them  alone  he  has  given  assurance  of  a 
particular  favourable  regard.  Of  them,  exclusively,  it 
is  said — ^'  He  that  toucheth  you,  toucheth  the  apple  of 
his  eye — Yea,  he  reproveth  kings  for  their  sake ;  saying 
touch  not  mine  anointed  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm — 
The  angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about  them 
that  fear  him  and  delivereth  them.'^  In  what  particular 
instances  or  circumstances  the  invisible  agency  of  angels, 
or  of  the  Lord  of  angels,  is,  more  especially,  interposed 
to  defend  and  deliver  his  people,  is  unknown  to  them. 
Yet  they  know  the  fact,  that  such  an  agency  is  exer- 
cised. They  know,  also,  that  the  superintending  care 
of  the  God  of  providence,  is  always  so  extended  over 
them,  that  nothing  rational  or  irrational,  visible  or  in- 
visible, shall  ever  be  permitted  to  harm  them,  farther 
than  he  shall  permit,  and  overrule  for  their  good* 
They  have  an  express  assurance  that  ^^  when  a  man's 
ways  please  the  Lord,  he  maketh  even  his  enemies  to 
be  at  peace  with  him."     He  controls  their  rage ;  or  he 


DISCOURSE  III.  73 

inclines  them  to  better  purposes  than  those  which  tliey 
had  formed  against  his  people ;  or  he  limits  or  disap- 
points their  efforts,  by  his  providential  dispensations. 
"  Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee  ;  the  re- 
mainder of  wrath  shalt  tliou  restrain" — And  who  can 
destroy  whom  God  will  save  !  who  can  harm  whom  om- 
nipotence will  protect ! 

So  extensive  and  compreliensive,  then,  is  the  import 
of  the  interrogatory  in  the  text.  So  various  and  nume- 
rous are  the  ways,  in  which  a  good  man'^s  character 
and  state,  will  prove  a  protection  to  him.  Yet,  after 
all,  as  already  hinted,  the  text  admits  that  he  may 
^^  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake.''     And  we  are  now 

III.  To  illustrate  the  afiirmation,  that  although  he 
suffer  tlius,  still  he  is  happy* 

Here  it  will  be  proper,  first,  to  notice  the  hypotlieti- 
cal  form  of  the  apostle's  language — ^'but  and  \f  ye 
suffer."  This  seems  to  intimate  that  probably  some  of 
those  to  whom  there  was  reference  would  almost,  or 
altogether,  escape  suffering.  And  this  is  found  in 
experience  to  be  the  fact.  Generally  those  suffer 
least,  who  have  least  to  do  with  public  conccrlis, 
and  are  least  exposed  to  publick  notice.  The  fol- 
lower of  that  whicli  is  good,  in  the  quiet  scenes  of 
private  life,  may  be  so  influential,  and  so  beloved,  and 
scatter  so  many  blessings  around  him,  as  sometimes 
scarcely  to  know  what  it  is  to  suffer  for  righteousness' 
sake.  This,  however,  is  far  from  being  always  the 
case,  even  in  private  life  5  and  it  is,  I  think,  never  the 


74  DISCOURSE  III. 

case^  when  the  good  man  occupies  a  publick  and  re- 
sponsible station,  and  is  obliged  to  have  much  to  do 
with  concerns,  in  which  the  interests  and  feelings  of 
others  are  deeply  involved.  In  these  circumstances, 
no  good  man  can  reasonably  expect  wholly  to  escape 
the  effect  of  unreasonable  and  unjust  resentment.  A 
wise  and  sovereign  God,  indeed,  awards  to  his  people 
their  several  allotments  of  suffering  in  his  cause,  as  of 
every  thing  else.  Far  more  is  endured  in  one  age  and 
place  than  in  another.  And  even  among  individuals,  in 
the  same  or  similar  circumstances,  one  is  grievously 
persecuted,  and  another  is  comparatively  but  little  an- 
noyed. In  view  of  this,  we  can  only  say — "  Even  so, 
Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in  thy  sight." 

It  appears,  then,  that  no  follower  of  that  wiiich  is 
good  ought  to  calculate  on  a  total  exemption  from  suf- 
fering, but  rather  to  prepare  to  meet  it  patiently  and 
firmly.  Our  perfect  and  blameless  example,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  himself,  was,  we  know,  through  much  of 
his  life,  in  various  ways,  subjected  to  extreme  suffering 
for  righteousness'  sake  ;  and  at  last  was  "  taken  by 
wicked  hands  and  crucified  and  slain."  And  he  hath 
reminded  us  that  "  The  servant  is  not  above  his  mas- 
ter, nor  the  disciple  above  his  Lord.  It  is  enough  for 
the  disciple  that  he  be  as  his  mrister,  and  the  servant 
as  his  Lord.  If  they  have  called  the  Master  of  the 
house  Beelzebub,  how  much  more  shall  they  call  them 
of  his  household — If  they  have  persecuted  me  they  will 
also  persecute  you."     These  words  were  no  doubt  in- 


DISCOURSE  III.  75 

tended  to  have  a  peculiar  reference  to  the  apostles  and 
primitive  christians ;  but  the  spirit  of  them  is  applica- 
ble to  the  followers  of  Christ  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
places.  So  that,  altliough  the  character  which  good  men 
possess  will  be  a  defence  to  them  in  all  the  ways  which 
have  b^en  mentioned,  yet  this  character  itself  may 
be  the  very  cause  of  their  suffering.  They  may 
suffer  not  only  although  they  are  good,  but  because  they 
are  good — "  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake.'^ 

The  conspicuous  virtues  of  a  good  man  form,  of  them- 
selves, a  reproof  to  the  openly  vicious,  which,  in  some  cir- 
cumstances, they  keenly  feel.  His  character  reproaches 
theirs,  and  fills  them  with  malignant  hatred  against 
him.  Sometimes,  too,  his  duty  requires  that  he  should, 
in  words  and  in  a  personal  address,  reprove  their  vices. 
At  other  times,  he  is  called  actively  and  publickly  to 
withstand  them  ;  to  expose  their  pernicious  principles 
or  designs,  and  warn  others  against  them  ;  to  detect 
their  hypocrisy  ;  to  oppose  their  acquisition  of  unjust 
gain,  their  frauds,  their  extortion,  their  avarice,  their 
profligacy,  their  licentious  pleasures,  their  ambition, 
their  thirst  of  revenge.  Hence,  when  the  wicked  arc 
armed  wdth  power,  they  will  sometimes  be  satisfied 
with  nothing,  short  of  the  blood  of  those  from  whom 
they  have  met  with  opposition  and  reproof.  Our  bles- 
sed Lord  himself,  his  forerunner,  his  apostles,  and  in- 
numerable martyrs  and  holy  men  in  all  ages,  have  been 
examples  of  this  truth.  But  when  the  wicked  cannot, 
or  dare  not,  or  ai^e  not  disposed  to  take  the  life  of  a  good 


76  DISCOURSE  III. 

man,  still  they  often  cause  him  to  suffer  greatly.  They 
slander  him  ;  they  excite  and  foment  prejudices  against 
him  :  thev  combine  and  lie  in  wait  to  seize  a  favourable 
opportunity  to  injure  him,  to  diminish  his  influence,  tq 
bring  him  into  dis esteem,  and,  if  they  can,  to  ruin  him. 
For  the  most  part,  their  iniquitous  designs  and  attempts 
are,  in  a  great  measure,  defeated.  Truth  and  integrity 
are  generally  an  overmatch  for  intrigue  and  falsehood. 
The  good  man's  character,  as  we  have  seen,  forms  a 
bulwark  around  him,  which  it  is  not  easy  either  to  force 
or  mine.  In  some  instances,  however,  they  are  suc- 
cessful, at  least  for  a  time ;  frequently  they  do  not  alto- 
gether fail  in  their  wicked  devices ;  and  almost  always 
they  annoy  and  disturb  the  object  of  their  hatred.  Yet, 
in  the  midst  of  all,  I  affirm,  in  accordance  with  the  text, 
that  the  good  man  is  happy — enviably  happy. 

1.  He  is  happy,  on  the  whole,  in  regard  to  his  in- 
ward feelings,  and  the  state  of  his  mind.  As  he  suffers 
for  righteousness'  sake,  his  conscience  cannot  but  be 
his  friend,  and  commend  him  decisively  for  doing  the 
very  things  which  have  brought  persecution  on  him. 
It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that  he  should  feel  remorse  or 
self  reproach.  At  times  he  may  have  some  conflicts 
\vith  himself,  in  his  endeavours  to  preserve  a  christian 
temper,  under  all  the  unjust  and  cruel  treatment  which 
he  receives.  Yet,  in  general,  he  is  tranquil ;  and  a 
peaceful  and  approving  conscience  makes  him  happy. 
Nay,  in  the  view  of  all  that  he  has  done,  and  of  all 
that  he  suffers  for  it,   he  often   lifts  up  his  heart  in 


DISCOURSE  III.  77 

thanksgiving  to  God,  for  that  grace  which  lias  cnahled  him 
to  "  keep  a  conscience  void  of  offence/'  and  he  rejoices 
with  exceeding  great  joy.  Verily,  it  is  not  easy  to  tell 
how  blessed  a  possession  is  this  peaceful  and  approving 
conscience,  of  which  I  am  speaking.  It  blesses  by  day 
and  by  night.  It  takes  away  the  sting  of  affliction. 
It  makes  the  pillow  grateful,  and  sleep  refreshing. 
Daniel  might  sleep  in  the  den  of  lions,  and  perhaps  did  so, 
while  the  unhappy  monarch  under  whose  order  he  suf- 
fered, passed  a  sleepless  night,  in  reflecting  on  his  folly 
and  guilt.  The  author  of  our  text,  we  know,  w^as 
sleeping — mark  it — "  sleeping  between  two  soldiers, 
bound  with  two  chains''  when  the  angel  came  to  deliver 
him  ;  although  he  knew  that  <fn  the  following  morning 
he  was  to  be  led  out  to  a  violent  and  ignominious  death. 
And  both  he  and  his  fellow  apostles,  when  they  had  been 
beaten,  at  the  command  of  the  Jewish  rulers,  "  departed 
from  the  presence  of  the  council,  rejoicing  that  they 
were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame,"  for  the  name  of 
their  Lord.  Was  it  not,  think  you,  under  an  impressive 
recollection  of  these  very  events  that  the  holy  apostle 
penned  the  text — "  But  and  if  ye  suffer  for  righteous- 
ness sake,  happy  are  ye  ?"  Yes,  he  had  tried  it,  and 
knew  by  experience,  as  well  as  by  inspiration,  the 
precious  truth  which  he  recorded.  And  try  it  whoever 
may,  it  shall  always  be  found  true,  that  an  approving 
conscience  will  render  him  who  suffers  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  emphatically,  a  blessed  man. 


78  DISCOURSE  III. 

2.  It  must  be  so^  because  the  good  man  knows  that  thfe 
approbation  of  his  conscience  is  the  approbation  of 
God.  Conscience  has  often  been  denominated  God's 
vicegerent.  The  appellation  is  not  always  just ;  be- 
cause conscience  is  sometimes  misinformed  and  mis- 
gidded^  and  speaks^  ''  peace^  peace,  when  there  is  no 
peace."  But  when  conscience  has  been  enlightened 
by  the  divine  law,  pacified  by  the  sprinkling  of  atoning 
blood,  and  conformed  to  the  standard  of  gospel  obedi- 
ence, then  its  voice  is  indeed  the  voice  of  God.  And 
such,  as  his  character  demonstrates,  must  be  the  con- 
science of  every  one,  who  is  a  follower  of  that  which  is 
good.  But  in  addition  to  his  general  character,  the 
very  circumstance  that'  he  suiFers  for  righteousness 
sake,  affords  him  one  of  tlie  best  evidences  that  he  is 
the  friend  of  God,  and  that  God  is  his  friend. 

When  virtue  and  piety  are  rev/arded  by  esteem,  and 
honour,  and  wealth,  many  appear  to  be  virtuous  and 
pious,  who  are  so  in  appearance  only,  and  who  drop  the 
disguise  as  soon  as  persecution  threatens  them.  But 
if  a  man  adhere  steadfastly  to  his  duty,  when  it  subjects 
him  to  reproach,  and  shame,  and  loss,  and  pain,  his 
sincerity  is  proved  by  the  most  rigorous  and  unequivo- 
cal test.  He  perceives  this,  and  he  rejoices  in  the  ev- 
idence thus  afforded  to  his  own  mind,  that  his  attach^ 
Hient  to  rectitude  is  both  genuine  and  stable ;  and  conse- 
quently that  the  heart- searching  God  approves  his 
conduct.  Now,  this  is  precisely  the  situation  of  the 
good  man  while  he  is  suffering  for  righteousness  sake. 


DISCOURSE  III.  79 

He  sees  that  he  is  enduring  the  trial  of  his  integrity, 
and  he  feels  that  he  is  willing  to  abide  it.  He  knows 
that  God  witnesses  the  motives  by  which  he  is  influen- 
ced, is  pleased  with  the  course  he  is  pursuing,  and  will 
abundantly  reward  him  for  all  that  he  suiTers.  He  sees 
.  that  should  his  enemies  even  take  his  life,  they  would 
only  liberate  him  the  more  speedily  from  all  his  sufTer- 
ings,  and  introduce  him  at  once  to  ineffable  and  endless 
felicity.  He  can  therefore  say  with  truth,  that  he  ^*  re- 
joices in  tribulation."  Yes,  bretliren,  his  consolations 
are  sometimes  inexpressible — assured  that  the  God  before 
whom  all  creatures  are  dust  and  vanity,  looks  down  upon 
him  in  his  aflliction  with  complacency,  shines  into  his  soul 
with  the  refreshing  influences  of  his  grace,  takes  iiini 
into  sweet  communion  with  Himself,  and  leads  forwai-d 
his  views  to  that  crown  of  eternal  life,  which  he  is 
shortly  to  receive,  and  shows  it  brightened  and  inci^a-s- 
ed  in  value,  by  the  furnace  of  affliction  through  which 
he  is  now  passing.  Oh  !  how  often  has  this  blessed 
and  overflowing  source  of  consolation  enabled  those  whoi 
have  sufi*ered,  even  unto  death,  for  righteousness  sake, 
to  utter  tlie  language  of  holy  joy  and  triumph,  whil& 
they  have  ascended  the  scalTold  or  been  consuming  at  thi; 
stake !  Like  their  Master,  and  like  his  first  martyr,  they 
have  prayed  for  their  enemies  with  their  expiriag 
breath ;  and  the  agonies  of  a  violent  death  have  b^»eii 
prevented  or  forgotten,  in  a  foretaste  of  the  heaven  to 
which  they  were  rising — Who,  tlien,  is  not  prepared  to 
say  with  the  apostle,  *•  But  and  if  ye  sufter  for  righteous- 
ness' sake  happy  are  ye.''  ? 


80  DISCOURSE  III. 

It  now  only  remains  to  apply  this  subject — 

To  \OUy  MY  YOUNG  FRIENDS^  WHO  ARE  CANDIDATES  FOR 
THE  HONOURS  OF  THIS    INSTITUTION. 

The  subject,  indeed,  would  admit  of  a  very  general 
application,  illustrative  of  the  excellence  and  advanta- 
ges of  true  religion,  and  powerfully  recommending  it 
to  the  love  and  practice  of  all  men.  But  I  have  only 
time  to  say  a  few  words  to  you,  whom  I  am  probably 
addressing  for  the  last  time  ;  and  for  whose  sake,  espe- 
cially, the  subject  has  been  chosen  and  discussed.  At 
parting  from  you,  I  was  earnestly  desirous  of  giving  you 
a  map,  so  to  speak,  of  the  course  which  I  wished  you 
to  pursue  through  life  ;  and  of  saying  what  I  could,  to 
engage  you  to  take  and  adhere  to  this  course.  This  has 
been  my  aim,  in  all  that  you  have  now  heard.  The  de- 
lineation I  have  given,  is,  I  know,  imperfect ;  but  imper- 
fect as  it  is,  I  make  it  over  to  you,  and  assure  you  con- 
fidently, that  if  you  realize  in  yourselves  the  character 
you  have  heard  described,  you  will  not  fail  to  be  happy. 
Your  prospects  and  expectations  ^re,  no  doubt,  very 
various.  Some  of  you,  perhaps,  are  to  pass  your  lives 
in  retirement.  Most  of  you,  probably,  are  to  be  publick 
men — ministers  of  the  gospel,  lawyers,  physicians,  states- 
men, or  soldiers.  But  no  matter  what  station  you  are 
to  occupy,  no  matter  what  character  you  are  to  sustain^ 
no  matter  what  business  you  are  to  follow,  no  matter 
what  portion  of  talent  or  improvement  you  may  possess, 
this  subject  is  alike  applicable,  and  equally  interesting 
to  YOU  all.     Every  one  of  vou  mav  be.  and  everv  one  of 


DISCOURSE  III.  81 

you  ought  to  be,  a  follower  of  that  which  is  good.  If 
you  are,  you  will  be  happy,  and  if  not,  you  must  be  mis- 
erable. 

With  paternal  anxiety  I  have  often  warned  and  advis- 
ed and  directed  you ;  and  with  the  same  anxiety  I  now 
look  forward  to  what  may  be  before  you.  The  first 
and  most  serious  thought  which  strikes  my  mind,  and 
which  ought  to  affect  your's^  is,  that  God  only  knows 
who  of  you  will  live,  and  who  of  you  will  not  live,  to 
take  an  established  standing  in  society.  The  catalogue 
of  our  college  exhibits  the  note  of  mortality  affixed  to 
the  names  of  a  number  who,  a  very  short  time  since, 
left  this  place  in  as  much  health,  and  witli  as  bright  and 
cheering  prospects,  as  any  of  you  now  possess.  Some 
of  your  names,  it  is  highly  probable,  will  soon  be  marked 
in  the  same  manner.  Oh  !  think  on  this — and  if  any  of 
you  have  not  yet  begun  to  be  followers  of  that  which  is 
good,  begin  without  delay.  Without  this  you  cannot  be 
safe  for  a  day  or  an  hour  :  with  it  you  are  safe,  wheth- 
er life  or  death  await  you. 

If  you  live,  you  ought  to  be  sensible,  that  you  cannot 

live  long  without  meeting  with  difHculties,  and  enemies, 

and  sufferings.     Form  what  plans,   or  take  what  course 

you  may,  you  cannot  avoid  them ;  they  will  still  assail 

you.     If  you  are  not  followers  of  that  w^hich  is  good, 

you  will  find  more  of  them  than  if  you  are  ;  and  you 

will  have  to  encounter  tliem  with  every  disadvantage. 

Remember,  then,  that  I  have  shewn  you  the  w^ay  in  which 

you   will  meet  with  the  smallest  share  of  adversity ; 

M 


83  DISCOURSE  111. 

and  in  which  you  will  have  the  greatest  support  under 
that  which  is  unavoidable ;  nay,  in  which  adversity 
itself  will  be  made  to  contribute  to  your  felicity. 

By  taking  this  way,  you  will  also  take  the  high  road 
to  usefulness,  honour  and  distinction.  For  if  you  act 
consistently,  as  followers  of  that  which  is  good,  you  will 
be  careful  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  advantages  which 
you  have  derived  from  a  liberal  education.  You  will 
feel  bound  to  make  improvement  in  knowledge,  and  to 
employ  all  your  knowledge  for  some  useful  purpose. 
The  natural  result  of  this,  will  be  influence,  esteem  and 
honour.  I  do  earnestly  wish  that  these  ideas  were  more 
seriously  considered  and  regarded  than  they  commonly 
are.  Improvement  in  knowledge  ought  not  to  be  re- 
garded, as  it  commonly  is,  merely  as  a  matter  of  taste 
and  inclination.  It  is  certainly  more.  There  is,  un- 
questionably, a  moral  obligation  imposed  on  all  who 
possess  the  means  of  improvement,  to  make  improve- 
ment to  the  whole  extent  of  their  means.  They  are 
entrusted  with  a  talent,  for  which  they  must  render  a 
strict  and  solemn  account.  In  like  manner,  every  man 
who  possesses  useful  knowledge,  is  bound,  whatever  be 
his  profession  or  vocation  in  life,  to  employ  his  whole 
stock  of  intellectual  strength  and  furniture,  in  the  best 
manner  he  can,  for  the  promotion  of  God's  glory  and 
the  good  of  his  fellow  men.  And  doing  this  conscien- 
tiously and  steadily,  he  will  certainly  be  useful  and  re- 
spected. Commonly  he  will  have  much  influence ;  and 
often  he  will  rise  to  high  honour  and  distinction.     View 


DISCOURSE  III.  83 

the  subject  in  this  light,  my-young  friends  ;  act  upon 
this  plan ;  be  governed  by  tHtse  principles ;  be  consist- 
ent followers  of  that  which  is  good;  and  you  cannot 
fail  to  pass  your  lives  happily^  and  to  close  them  peace- 
fully or  triumphantly. 

Writei^,  I  know  there  are,  and  some  of  considerable 
character,  who  have  attempted  to  delineate  a  happy  and 
useful  life,  without  giving  to  religion  any  place  in  their 
system.  And  it  is  doubtless  true  that  worldly  honour 
and  integrity,  sobriety,  benevolence,  public  spirit  and 
intellectual  pleasures,  will  always  be  productive  of  un- 
speakably more  enjoyment  and  more  respect,  than  can 
be  found  in  any  course  of  life  w^hich  excludes  them,  or 
leaves  them  unregarded.  Yet,  after  all,  this  system  is 
miserably  imperfect :  so  imperfect,  indeed,  that  we  must 
consider  that  man  as  wretched  who  is  destitute  of  re- 
ligion. He  has  no  resting  place  for  his  soul  w^hile  he 
lives ;  no  rational  hope  in  death ;  no  satisfying  pros- 
pect beyond  the  grave.  The  Creator  has  evidently 
intended  that  man  should  find  his  highest  enjoyment 
even  in  prosperity,  and  his  chief  solace  in  adversity,  in 
genuine  piety.  For  this,  therefore,  no  human  ingenuity 
or  efforts  have  ever  found  a  substitute,  and  they  never 
will  find  one.  My  dear  young  friends,  seek  no  such  substi- 
tute. Seek  the  grace  of  God  to  make  you,  and  keep  you, 
truly  pious.  Take  the  entire  character  of  a  follower  of 
that  which  is  good,  as  I  have  presented  it  to  you,  and 
try  to  make  it  your  own.  You  will  find  that  it  will  be 
more,  far  more  advantageous,  than  I  have  been  able  to 


84  DISCOURSE  III. 

represent  it.  If  you  possess  it,  nothing,  as  you  have 
heard,  will  be  permitted  really  to  harm  you,  because 
the  Almighty  God  will  be  your  friend  and  protector. 
Oh!  may  his  grace  guide  you,  may  his  providence 
protect  you,  may  his  richest  blessing  rest  upon  you! 
Amen. 


DISCOUBSE  lY. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD  THE  GUIDE  OF  VOUTH. 


PSALM  CXIX.  9. 

^^  Whernv^thal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  xvaij  ?  Bij 
taking  heed  thereto  according  to  thy  wore/." 

A  HESE  words  contain  a  question  of  great  importance 
and  interest^  proposed  and  answered  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  Spirit  of  infallible  truth.  A  point  thus 
settled  can  neither  need,  nor  receive,  any  additional 
confirmation.  Yet  truths,  unquestionable  in  themselves, 
may  sometimes  he  greatly  illustrated  and  enforced  by 
example ;  and  the  text,  it  is  believed,  contains  this 
additional  excellence.  There  is  much  reason  to  think, 
as  commentators  have  shown,  that  it  wa^  the  inten- 
tion of  the  inspired  Psalmist  in  the  text,  not  only  to 
publish  an  oracle  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  to  state  the 
result  of  his  own  experience  :— to  declare,  that  having 
been  engaged  from  early  life,  in  forming  his  temper 
and  regulating  his  conduct  by  the  word  of  God,  as  a 
$tandard,  he  could  now,  in  advanced  age,  confidently 
assure  every  young  man  that  this,  and  this  only,  would 
be  found  a  safe  and  perfect  rule.  That  the  influence 
of  the  divine  word  begins  with  cleansing,  or  purifying, 


86  DISCOURSE  IV. 

the  heart ;  and  that  then^  in  natural  order,  it  directs 
the  whole  current  of  life  and  action  into  "  a  way,"  free 
from  the  pollutions  and  the  miseries  of  impiety  and 
vice. 

Such  appears  to  me  to  be  the  true  scope  and  import 
of  the  text.  And  as  the  language  of  the  inspired  pen- 
man seems  plainly  to  imply,  what  we  know  to  be  fact, 
that  in  forming  the  temper  and  ordering  the  life,  there 
are  other  ivaysj  than  that  which  is  marked  out  in  the 
word  of  God,  and  that  all  these,  as  being  different  from 
the  safe  and  right  way,  are  to  be  carefully  and  con- 
stantly avoided  by  the  young ;  it  is  intended  to  frame 
the  whole  of  the  subsequent  discussion  with  special 
reference  to  this  important  consideration. 

Those  who  reject  revealed  truth,  entirely  and  ex- 
plicitly, have  still  their  system  of  principles  and  con- 
duct, which  they  denominate  morale  and  which  they 
teach  and  recommend.  Other  systems  there  also  are, 
not  entirely  derived  from  the  word  of  God,  nor  consist- 
ent with  it,  which  occasionally  obtain  a  great  currency, 
even  among  those  who  bear,  and  who  wish  to  retain, 
the  chi^istian  name.  To  specify  some  of  these — There 
is  the  system  of  those  who  grossly  pervert  or  misrepre- 
sent the  scriptures  ;  the  system  of  mere  formalists  in 
religion ;  the  system  of  sagacious,  v/orldly  men ;  the 
system  of  fashionable  life— rand  besides  all  those  who 
deliberately  embrace  any  of  these  systems,  a  multitude 
of  mankind  live  and  act  without  thought  and  without 
consistency,  and  therefore  cannot  be  said  to  follow  any 


DISCOURSE   IV,  87 

system.  Now,  as  society  cannot  exist  without  a  regard 
to  certain  fundamental  principles  of  morals,  all  the  clas- 
ses specified,  invariably  profess  to  pay  a  regard  to  these 
principles.  There  is  often,  indeed,  much  more  profes- 
sed, than  is  either  practiced  or  felt ;  yet  the  principles 
in  question  must  in  some  measure  be  respected  by  all. 
Truth  and  integrity,  for  example,  all  men,  who  support 
any  pretensions  to  character,  must  treat  with  respect. 
But  although,  to  a  certain  extent,  all  imperfect  or  false 
systems  of  morals  must  require  what  the  word  of  God 
requires,  yet  i«  some  particulars,  and  those  too  of  the 
highest  importance,  they  differ  from  that  word,  and 
sometimes,  directly  oppose  it.  And  here,  precisely,  lies 
the  danger  to  which  men  in  general,  and  young  men  in 
particular,  are  exposed.  Youth  are  not  only  destitute 
of  experience,  but  their  passions  are  more  ardent  and 
impetuous,  and  of  course,  the  temptations  to  vice  act 
upon  them  with  greater  force  and  advantage,  than  at  a 
more  advanced  age.  And  as  all  lax  systems  of  morals 
allow  a  latititude  and  gratification  to  sinful  propen- 
sities, which  the  word  of  God  strictly  prohibits,  youth 
are  in  great  danger  of  perversion  and  pollution  by  be- 
ing seduced  into  them ;  being  tempted  to  reject  or  dis- 
regard the  system  which  they  ought  to  adopt,  be- 
cause it  is  opposed  to  every  licentious  indulgence  and 
inclination. 

This  danger,  whicli  is  common  to  all  youth,  is,  if 
care  be  not  taken  to  prevent  it,  rather  increased  than 
diminished,   with   those    who    are   liberally    educated. 


8S  DISCOURSE  IV. 

Classical  reading  itself,  is  not  without  a  tendency  to  fos- 
ter some  notions  and  feelings  which  do  not  entirely  ac* 
cord  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  ;*  the  pride  of  science 
has  the  same  tendency  ;  and  some  of  the  authors  usually 
read  as  standards  of  taste  and  composition,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  fashionable  publications  of  the  day,  are 
rather  calculated  to  cherish  than  to  abate  the  evil. 

To  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  the  mischief  here  con- 
templated, as  well  as  to  subserve  other  important  ends, 
the  study  of  the  holy  scriptures  has,  for  some  time  past, 
been  interwoven  with  our  whole  College  course  ;  and 
those  who  belong  to  the  institution  know,  that  the  com- 
ments made  on  the  portions  read  and  recited,  have  been 
constantly  directed  to  the  vindication  and  enforcement 
of  revealed  truth,  in  opposition  to  infidel  objections, 
loose  principles,  and  unchristian  practice.  Still,  it  has 
appeared  to  me  that  it  might  be  useful  to  sketch,  dis- 
tinctly and  connectedly,  an  oiitlhie  of  the  genuine  sys- 
tem of  moral  principle  and  action  taught  in  holy  scrip- 
turcj  as  contradistinguished  from  every  other ;  and  with 
a  view  to  attempt  this,  the  present  subject  of  discussion 
has  been  selected. 

It  is  impossible,  however,  in  the  time  alotted  to  this 
service,  even  to  hint  at  all  the  false  principles  which 
are  current  in  the  world,  and  dangerous  to  youth.  I 
shall  attempt  no  more,  and  indeed,  no  more  seems  to  me 
necessary,  than  to  lay  down,  very  briefly,  the  leading 
parts  of  the  revealed  systejn  of  moral  and  religious 
principle  and  practice  ;  and  to  mention,  cursorily,  as  I 

*  See  note  G  at  the  end  of  the  volurae. 


DISCOURSE  rV".  89 

pi*oceed5  some  of  the  chief  errors  to  which  it  is  opposed. 
The  whole  discussion  will  be  conducted  with  a  special 
view  to  the  benefit  of  the  youth  of  this  institution,  and 
particularly  of  those  who  are  on  the  point  of  leaving  it ; 
and  yet,  from  the  nature  of  the  subject,  much  that  will 
be  said,  w411  be  equally  applicable  to  hearers  of  every 
acre  and  condition  in  life. 

In  the  prosecution  of  my  design,  thiis  explained,  I  shall 
endeavour  to  shov/,  I.  What  must  be  the  origin,  or  vi- 
tal principle,  of  the  temper  and  practice  of  the  young 
man,  who  would  cleanse  and  take  heed  to  his  w^ay,  ac- 
cording  to  the  word  of  God.  II.  The  manner  in  which 
he  must  receive  that  word,  and  be  taught  and  governed 
by  it.  III.  How  he  must  estimate  and  perform  the 
several  duties  which  he  owes  to  God,  to  himself,  and  to 
his  fellow  men.  IV.  The  means  he  must  use  to  secure 
an  effectual  attention  to  his  duty,  and  steadfastness  in  its 
performance. 

I.  The  temper  and  practice  of  the  young  man^ 
who  would  cleanse  and  take  heed  to  his  way,  according 
to  the  word  of  God,  must  have  their  origin,  or  vital 
principle,  in  the  renovation  of  his  heart  and  nature^ 
That  man  is  by  nature  wholly  depraved  and  prone  to 
evil,  and  that,  therefore,  he  must  be  renewed  in  the 
spirit  of  his  mind,  before  he  can  be  morally  pure  in  th^ 
sight  of  God,  or  truly  love  and  serve  him,  is  a  doctrine 
taught,  or  implied,  in  every  part  of  the  bible.  Thd 
wntten    word   of  God,   in  the  time  of    the    Psalmist/ 

covdd  not  have  consisted  of  more  than  the  Pentateuch^ 

N 


9a  DISCOURSE  IV. 

or  five  books  of  Moses,  the  book  of  Job,  perhaps  the 
books  of  Joshua  and  Judges,  and  some  of  his  own  inspi- 
red Psahns.  But  even  in  this  small  portion  of  the  sa- 
cred volume — small  indeed,  in  comparison  with  that 
which  it  is  our  happy  lot  to  possess — -the  doctrine  of 
man's  natural  depravity,  and  consequent  need  of  reno- 
vation, might  easily  be  learned.  Of  those  who  lived 
before  the  general  deluge,  Moses  had  recorded,  that 
^^  the  wickedness  of  man  was  gi^eat  in  the  earth,, 
and  that  every  imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his 
heart  was  only  evil  continually" — implying,  not  only 
that  his  conduct  was  impious,  but  that  his  nature  was 
radically  corrupt.  In  the  book  of  Job,  if  that  book  was 
then  extant,  it  had  been  written  "  What  is  man  that 
he  should  be  clean,  and  he  which  is  born  of  a  w^oman 
that  he  should  be  righteous  ?  Who  can  bring  a  clean 
thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?  not  one."  The  Psalmist  him- 
self, it  is  plain,  had  fully  learned  this  doctrine,  that 
man  is  deeply  polluted  in  his  moral  powers,  and  that  he 
needs  the  omnipotent  energies  of  divine  grace  to  cleanse 
him.  Of  this  there  is  abundant  evidence  in  various 
parts  of  his  writings,  particularly  in  the  51st  psalm ; 
in  which,  after  tracing  the  dreadful  guilt  with  which 
his  conscience  was  then  burthened  to  the  seat  of  it,  in 
a  corrupt  nature,  he  fervently  prays — "  Create  in 
me  a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me."  There  is,  also,  the  best  reason  to  believe 
that  the  primary  and  essential  part  of  the  cleansing  of 
which  he  speaks  in  the  text,  was,  in  his  view  of  it,  t© 


DISCOURSE  IT.  91 

take  place  in  the  hearty  naturally  so  corr\ipt  and  defiled ; 
that  thiis^  tlie  fountain  being  purged,  tlie  streams  that 
flow  from  it  might  also  be  pure. 

In  the  New  Testament,  this  truth,  like  most  other 
revealed  truths,  is  taught  with  greater  fulness  and  clear- 
ness than  in  the  old.  "  Eitlier  make  the  tree  good  and 
his  fruit  good ;  or  else  make  the  tree  corrupt  and  his 
fruit  corrupt ;  for  the  tree  is  known  by  his  fruit  A 
good  man,  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart  bring- 
cth  forth  good  things ;  and  an  evil  man  out  of  the  evil 
treasure  bringeth  forth  evil  things.  Thou  blind  Phar- 
isee !  cleanse  first  that  which  is  within  the  cup  and 
the  platter,  that  the  outside  of  them  may  be  clean 
also.  The  sons  of  God — were  born,  not  of  blood, 
nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man, 
but  of  God.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except 
a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and 
that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Marvel  not 
that  I  said  unto  thee,  ye  must  be  born  again.  The  car- 
nal mind  is  enmity  against  God,  not  subject  to  the  law 
of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be.  If  any  man  be  in  Christ 
he  is  a  new  creature,  old  things  ai^e  passed  away, 
behold  all  things  are  become  new." 

In  this  manner,  the  abundant  and  unequivocal  lan- 
guage of  the  New  Testament  teaches  that  man  is  de- 
praved throughout ;  that  none  of  the  race  escapes  the 
dreadful  and  deadly  contamination  ;  that  the  seat  of  it 
is  the  heart :  and  therefore  that  the  work  of  cleansing 


92  DISCOURSE  IV. 

^lust  begin  here ;  that  no  external  rites  nor  mere  hu" 
man  efforts,  will  ever  effect  it,  but  that  we  must  look 
for  its  performance  to  the  power  and  Spirit  of  God. 

The  friends  and  advocates  of  false  and  imperfect  sys- 
tems of  religion  and  morals  always  hate,  and  often  bit- 
terly oppose  this  doctrine.  But  it  is,  as  we  have 
seen,  a  part  of  the  truth  of  God ;  and  observation 
and  the  history  of  the  world  tend  to  illustrate  and  en- 
force it  powerfully.  Yes,  my  young  friends,  a  renexved 
hearty  is  the  vital  spring  of  all  genuine  piety  and  true 
christian  practice  ;  as  well  as  the  most  sure  and  solid 
basis  of  pure  morals.  To  attempt  to  make  a  man  truly 
good  withuul  this  inward  cleansing,  is  like  endeavour- 
ing to  make  a  bad  tree  bear  good  fruit ;  or  like  at- 
tempting to  purify  the  streams  which  constantly  flow 
from  a  polluted  fountain. 

Remember,  then,  that  if  you  would  effectually  cleanse 
your  way,  and  take  heed  to  it  according  to  the  word  of 
God,  you  must  seek  the  grace  and  aid  of  his  Holy 
Spirit,  to  transform  your  hearts,  and  implant  there  the 
living  principle  of  holiness ;  as  that  which  is  essential 
to  a  life  conformed  in  all  things  to  his  revealed  will. 
Never  forget  that,  not  only  an  outward,  but  an  inward 
purity  is  necessary  ;  that,  not  only  reformation,  but  re- 
generation, is  indispensable ;  that,  without  a  cordial  love 
to  the  law  of  God,  its  outward  observance  will  always 
be  constrained  and  irksome ;  that  obedience  to  it  never 
can  be  pleasing,  thorough  and  lasting  ;  nay,  that,  in  the 
?ight  of  God;  it  never  can  be  real  or  acceptable ,  for  it 


DISCOURSE  IV.  93 

IS  the  heart  that  the  heart-searching  God  always  regards. 
Keep  in  mind  that  a  new  and  clean  heart  is  the  source 
of  all  evangelical  repentf^nce  for  sin  ;  of  all  genuine 
and  saving  ftiith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  of  all  the 
graces  of  the  Spirit ;  and  of  all  the  best  and  most  pow- 
erful springs  of  moral  action^  and  christian  deportment, 
— of  a  blameless^  amiable,  exemplary  and  useful  life. 

II.  The  man  who  takes  heed  to  his  way  according 
to  the  word  of  God,  must  receive  that  word  as  his 
standard  of  duty  and  action  in  all  things  ;  and  adhere 
to  it,  in  opposition  to  all  contravening  opinions,  author- 
ity, or  example.  This  position  is  but  a  varied  expres- 
sion of  the  leading  idea  held  forth  in  the  text ;  and  vet 
no  individual  will  act  in  full  accordance  with  it,  who  is 
altogether  a  stranger  to  that  great  change  of  which  I 
have  just  spoken,  and  with  which,  therefore,  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  begin.  But  he  in  whose  heart  the  fountain 
of  depravity  has  been  healed,  will,  with  readiness  and 
pleasure,  make  revealed  truth,  in  very  deed,  '*  the  man 
of  his  counsel,"  and  the  guide  of  his  life.  He  will  be 
able  to  say  with  the  penman  of  the  text — '^  The  judg- 
ments of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether : 
more  to  be  desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much 
fine  gold  ;  sweeter  also  than  honey  and  the  honey  comb : 
thy  testimonies  also  are  my  delight  and  my  counsel- 
lors." A  book  which  both  interests  and  instructs  U3 
we  commonly  read  rapidly,  carefully,  and  repeatedly. 
Such  a  book  will  the  bible  always  be,  to  the  man  in 
whom  the  work  of  sanctification  is  begun.     Hence  he 


94  DISCOURSE  IV. 

"will  speedily  become  familiar  with  its  contents,  and  will 
-well  understand  its  leading  doctrines  and  precepts.  He 
will  thus  have  his  criterion  of  truth,  and  rule  of  duty 
always  at  hand,  and  ready  to  be  applied  as  circumstan- 
ces may  require ;  will  be  furnished  with  a  directory  for 
himself,  and  will  be  able  to  bring  all  questionable  prin- 
ciples and  practices  to  an  ijifallible  Lest. 

The  man  we  contemplat€,  will  make  a  vigorous  use  of 
his  reason  to  ascertain,"  and,  as  far  as  he  can,  to  com- 
prehend and  explain  what  the  scripture  teaches ;  but 
he  will  never  think  it  a  proper  exercise  of  his  reason 
to  controvert,  oppose,  or  modify,  any  thing  that  it 
teaches. 

There  are,  my  young  friends,  t^vo  great  inquiries, 
relative  to  matters  of  religion,  into  which  all  others 
may  be  resolved.  The  first  is — Are*  the  scriptures  the 
word  of  God  ?  The  second — What  do  the  scriptures 
teach  ?^^"  We  are  to  make  the  best  use  of  our  reason, 
of  which  we  are  capable,  to  answer  both  these  inquiries. 
^^  Reason,''  remarks  one  who  had  examined  this  subject 
deeply  and  accurately,  ''  Reason  is,  primarily,  no  more 
than  the  test  or  touchstone  of  evidence ;  and  in  a  secon- 
dary sense  only  the  standard  of  trutlr't  Reason  must 
pronounce  that  to  be  true,  or  false,  which  the  compe- 
tent evidence  proves  to  be  the  one  or  the  other.  If,  in 
the  present  case,  reason,  after  fully  and  candidly  exam- 
ining the  evidence — evidence  drawn  from  every  source — 

*  See  note  G  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 
i  Doctor  George  Campbell. 


DISCOURSE  IV.  95 

decide  that  there  is  not  gi'oiind  to  believe  that  the  scrip- 
tures are  the  word  of  God,  then  they  have  no  authority 
whatsoever,  more  than  other  human  productions.  But 
if,  on  the  contrary,  the  evidence  is  found  to  be  irresist- 
ibly conclusive,  that  the  scriptures  are  the  word  of  God, 
reason,  having  ascertained  this,  cannot  legitimately  con- 
trovert that  word  for  a  single  moment ;  but  must  take 
it  exactly  as  it  is ;  must  labour  to  understand  and  ex- 
plain it,  as  far  as  practicable  ;  and  when  she  can  go  no 
farther,  must  reverently  submit  her  powers  to  the  au- 
thority of  God.  In  a  word,  the  proper  office  of  reason 
here,  is  precisely  the  same  that  it  is  in  relation  to  all 
the  other  inscrutable  works  and  ways  of  God,  which^ 
indeed,  are  very  numerous.  She  is  to  take  facts  as  she 
finds  them,  explain  and  harmonize  them  as  far  as  she 
can  ;  and  when  she  can  do  no  more,  fairly  acknowledge 
her  ignorance  or  weakness  ;  and  wait  for  more  light 
in  this  world,  or  for  more  strength  in  the  world  to  come ; 
recollecting,  that  at  last,  and  to  all  eternity,  finite  rea- 
son, or  intellect,  will  never  be  able  to  comprehend  more 
than  a  little,  comparatively  a  very  little,  of  that  which 
is  infinite.  To  act  differently  from  this  is  manifestly 
to  act  most  irrationally  and  impiously  ;  for  it  is,  in  the 
indulgence  of  a  proud  and  self-sufficient  spirit,  to  follow 
the  uncertain  guidance  of  that  twinkling  ray  of  intellect 
which  our  Maker  has  given  us  ;  in  preference  to  the 
unerring  guidance  of  that  infinite  fountain  of  intellectual 
light,  of  which  He  is  the  source  and  centre,  and  from 
which  our  feeble  beam  of  reason  has  been  derived. 


96  DISCOURSE  lY, 

Can  we  be  more  certain  of  any  thing,  than  we  hv6) 
that  what  God  says  must  be  true  ?  and  do  we  not  know, 
by  much  sad  experience,  that  the  conclusions  of  our 
own  reason  are  not  always  true  ;  that  they  are  often 
erroneous  and  delusive  ?  Is  it  not  then,  I  ask — all  duty 
apart — is  it  not  one  of  the  plainest  dictates  of  reason 
itself,  always  to  trust  God  in  any  thing  that  he  has  re- 
vealed, rather  than  to  trust  ourselves,  in  any  reasoning 
against  it  ? 

Reason  dictates,  too,  that  we  should  be  deeply  grate- 
ful to  God,  that  he  has  not  left  us^  as  the  wisest  of  the 
heathen  were  left,  to  wander  in  endless  uncertainty,  in 
regard  to  religious  truth  and  duty ;  but  has  told  us 
plainly  in  his  infallible  word,  what  is  truth,  and  what 
is  duty.  Are  there  some  things  in  that  word  the  com- 
prehension of  which  transcends  our  powers  ?  That  very 
circumstance  goes  to  show  that  the  word  of  God  is 
like  all  his  other  works,  and  by  doing  so,  increases  its 
credibility.  "  Unsearchableness  to  human  faculties,^'- says 
the  same  able  writer,  already  referred  to,  "  is  a  sort  of 
signature,  impressed  on  the  works  of  the  Most  High ; 
and  which,  when  found  in  any  thing  attested  as  from 
him,  ought  to  be  held  at  least  a  presumption  in  favour 
of  the  testimony.'^ 

It  is,  therefore,  no  objection  to  the  humble  christian, 
but  the  contrary,  that  he  cannot  fully  explain,  or  com- 
prehend, how  it  is,  that  in  the  perfect  unity  of  the 
divine  essence,  there  are  three  distinctions,  usually  de- 
nominated   persons — Father,    Son,    and   Holy   Ghost. 


DISCOURSE  IV*  97 

He  receives  this  truth,  without  difliculty  or  hesitatiotij 
becciuse  he  finds  it  unquestionably  taught  by  the  word 
of  God  ;  and  he  applies  it  to  the  great  and  important 
practical  purposes  to  which  that  word  directs  him  to 
apply  it.  For  the  same  reason  he  believes  that  the 
divine  and  human  natures  were  united  in  Jcrus  Christ ; 
and  on  this,  as  the  gospel  teaches,  he  founds  the  med- 
iatorial character  of  the  Saviour ;  and  the  great  doc- 
trines of  his  atonement  for  sin,  and  the  justification  of 
all  true  believers,  by  tlie  imputation  of  his  righteous- 
ness. He  delights  exceedingly  to  observe  that  the  gos^ 
pel,  manifestly  considering  the  Redeemer  as  God,  as 
well  as  man,  abounds  in  representations  of  Him  as  om- 
nipotent, omniscient,  and  omnipresent ;  always  w^ith  his 
people  ;  always  protecting  them  ;  always  helping  them  5 
ready  to  sustain  them  even  in  their  dying  hour  ;-^to  take 
them  to  his  blissful  presence ;  to  raise  their  bodies  at 
the  last  day ;  to  acquit  them  in  the  final  judgment ;  and 
to  receive  them,  glorified  in  body  and  soul,  to  share 
with  Himself  the  endless  and  ineffable  bliss  of  the  heav- 
enly state. 

Once  more  ;  it  is  no  stumbling  block  to  him  who 
takes  revealed  truth  exactly  as  he  finds  it,  that  he  is 
not  able  fully  to  explain  the  connexion  which  subsists, 
between  the  perfect  freedom  and  accountableness  of  man, 
and  the  absolute  sovereignty  of  the  grace  and  provi- 
dence of  God.  He  will  find,  upon  due  examination^ 
that  there  is  a  depth  in  this  subject,  as  in  many  others^ 

which  he  cannot  fathom  5  and  into  w  hich,  therefore  he 

O 


98  DISCOURSE  IV. 

must  adventure  with  caution,  and  beware  not  to  pro- 
ceed too  far.  His  principal  concern  will  be  to  under- 
stand what  is  practical ;  and  this,  with  the  nght  tem- 
per of  mind  which  he  possesses,  he  will  not  find  diffi- 
cult. He  will  not  want  arguments  to  convince  him 
that  he  is  a  free  and  accountable  creature,  because  he 
is  conscious  of  it — he  feels  that  he  is  so  ;  and  because 
he  perceives  that  the  scriptures  continually  suppose  it, 
and  that  the  whole  organization  and  arrangements  of 
human  society  are,  and  must  be,  built  upon  it,  as  a  con- 
ceded, or  self-evident  truth.  At  the  same  time,  his  own 
experience,  as  well  as  the  unerring  word,  will  teach  him, 
that  he  is  entirely  dependent  on  divine  grace,  for  every 
right  and  holy  exercise  of  his  mind ;  and  for  strength 
and  ability  properly  to  discharge  every  duty.  He  can 
cordially  subscribe  to  the  apostle's  declarations — ''  By 
grace  ye  are  saved,  through  faith,  and  that  not  of  your- 
selves, it  is  the  gift  of  God.  Not  that  we  are  sufficient 
of  ourselves  to  think  any  thing  as  of  ourselves,  but  our 
sufficiency  is  of  God/'  Let  others,  then,  explain  this 
subject  as  they  like,  or  lose  themselves  in  it,  as  they 
often  do ;  or  let  his  own  speculations  on  it  be  what  they 
may,  still  he  has  for  practice,  which  he  chiefly  regards, 
a  plain  and  satisfactory  rule  of  duty — a  rule  dictated  by 
common  sense  and  experience,  and  sanctioned  by  the 
word  of  God,  namely,  that  he  is  entirely  responsible  for 
all  his  voluntaiy  actions,  thoughts  and  desires  ;  and  that 
he  is  to  look  to  God,  sensible  of  an  entire  dependence  on 


DISCOURSE  IV.  99 

him,  for  grace  and  assistance  to  tliink,  and  will,  and  act 
aright,  at  all  times  and  in  every  duty. 

In  regard  to  the  providence  of  God,  he  is  fully  per- 
suaded that  all  events  past,  present  and  to  come,  have 
been,  are,  and  will  be,  perfectly  subject  to  its  direction 
or  control ;  and  yet,  as  in  the  former  case,  he  doubts 
not  that  all  moral  beings  ever  have  been,  and  ever  will 
be,  as  fully  and  justly  accountable  for  their  conduct,  as 
if  this  providence  could  be  supposed  not  to  exist. 

It  deserves  particular  notice,  that  he  who  takes  the 
plain  word  of  God  for  his  guide,  never  can  adopt  or 
think  favourably,  of  that  half  atheistical  notion,  that  the 
divine  providence  is  nothing  more  than  some  general 
ordering  of  the  laws  of  nature,  or  the  destinies  of  na- 
tions ;  so  that  many  things  fall  out,  in  the  affairs  both 
of  communities  and  individuals,  without  any  special 
direction,  control  or  care  of  the  Deity ;  many  things, 
in  a  word,  that  must  be  attributed  to  accident  or  chance. 
No  truly ;  he  believes,  and  it  is  delightful  for  him  to 
believe,  that  in  regard  to  this  matter,  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  accident  or  chance.  That  every  thing,  whether 
great  or  small,  is  ordered  or  permitted  by  God ;  that 
"  in  God  he  lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being ;"  that 
^»  the  hairs  of  his  head  are  all  numbered  ;''  and  that  '^  a 
sparrow  falleth  not  to  the  ground  without  his  Heavenly 
Father."  Here  is  the  stable  foundation  of  his  habitual 
trust  in  God ;  and  here  is  his  encouragement  to  pray 
for  providential  protection  and  favours,  both  for  himself 
and  others. 


iOQ  DISCOURSE  IV. 

Thus,  I  hope,  it  appears — for  I  am  solicitous  that 
to  you  it  should  appear — that  he  who  walks  simply  by 
tlie  word  of  God  as  a  rule  of  duty,  does  not  act  blindly, 
or  weakly,  or  irrationally,  as  is  sometimes  supposed  and 
said ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  he,  of  all  men,  makes 
the  most  proper  use  of  reason  in  matters  of  religion. 

But,  in  closing  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  must  distinct- 
ly/ remind  you,  t'lough  the  thought  has  several  times 
been  hinted,  that,  with  the  man  we  contemplate,  relig- 
ion, in  all  its  parts,  is  ever  a  practical,  more  than  a 
speculative  subject.  Re  studies  it,  and  examines  it, 
and  thinks  on  it,  always  vrith  a  view  to  practice.  He 
labours  to  ascertain  the  truth  that  he  may  conform  his 
heart  and  his  life  to  its  dictates  ;  and  he  is  much  em- 
ployed in  endeavouring  to  render  tliis  conformity  more 
and  more  exact  5  more  advanced  towards  that  perfec- 
tion after  which  he  aspires,  but  which  he  expects  not 
to  reach,  till  '^  mortality  shall  be  swallowed  up  of  iife.*^ 

^Yt  must  also  particularly  remark,  that  the  man  who 
leai^is  from  the  bille  the  importance  of  piety,  will  learn 
from  the  same  source,  in  what  manner  its  spirit  is  to  be 
regidated,  and  its  duties  performed.  Hence  he  will 
avoid  formality,  on  the  one  hand  ;  and  fanaticism  on 
the  otlier.  Formality  leaves  the  heart  out  of  the  exer- 
cises of  religion  ;  and  makes  the  whole  to  consist  in 
intellectual  attainments  and  exterior  observances.  Fa^ 
natjcism  indulges  the  alTections  and  the  imagination,  to 
the  neglect  and  violation  of  reason,  decorum  and  the 
word  of  God.     But  he  who  in  all  things  endeavours  to 


DISCOURSE   IV.  101 

keep  close  to  that  word,  will  rigorously  subject  his  fancy 
and  his  feelings  to  its   prescriptions,   and  at  the   same 
time  earnestly  strive  to  serve  his  Maker  in  spirit  and  in 
truth.     While  his  heart  is  in  all  his  religious  exercises 
and  duties,  his  understanding,  enlightened  and  directed 
by  scripture,  will   never  permit  him  to    exceed  those 
bounds  of  fervency  which  scriptural  example  and  instruc- 
tion clearly  warrant ;  nor  will  it  ever  suffer  him  to  lis- 
ten to  any  pretensions   of  new  revelations  from  others, 
nor  to  expect,   nor  even  desire  them  for  himself.     All 
the  revelation  that  he  admits  is  in  his  Bible.     This  he 
holds   sacred  and  holds  fast,  witliout  suffering  any  ad- 
dition to  it,  or  diminution  of  it.     By  this  he  tries  himself 
and  tries  others ;  his  state  toward  God ;  the  exercises, 
views,   suggestions,  workings   or    feelings   of    his  own 
mind  ;  and  all  that,  on  the  subjects  of  religion  and  mor- 
als, he  either  reads  in  books,  or  hears  from  h\mian  lips. 

III.  Let  us  now  consider,  more  directly  and  fully,  how 
this  man  will  estimate  and  perform  the  severi.l  duties 
which  he  owes  to  God,  to  himself,  and  to  his  fellow  men. 

1.  He  will  be  attentive  to  the  right  order  and  relative 
importance  of  his  various  duties,  and  be  careful  to  place 
in  the  first  rank  those  which  he  owes  immediately  to 
God.  The  order  and  relative  importance  of  our  seve- 
ral duties,  is  a  matter  of  far  greater  moment  than  seems 
commonly  to  be  apprehended.  False  and  imperfect 
systems  of  religion  and  morals,  usually  dwell  much  on 
what  men  owe  to  themselves,  and  to  each  other ;  and 
very  little  comparatively,  on  what  they  owe  to  God. 


10^  DISCOURSE  IV. 

It  is  their  favourite  representation,  indeed,  that  our 
Maker  is,  in  general,  best  served  by  taking  care  of  our- 
selves, and  by  doing  good  to  his  creatures.  Now,  in 
this  there  is  something  extremely  specious,  and  yet  en* 
tirely  fallacious.  The  error  may,  perhaps,  be  best  ex- 
posed by  remarking,  that,  while  we  readily  and  fully 
admit,  that  to  consult  our  ow^n  true  happiness,  and  that 
of  our  brethren  of  mankind,  constitutes,  indeed,  an  im- 
portant part  of  our  duty  to  God  himself,  since  He  has 
commanded  us  to  do  so  ;  yet  that  it  can  be  shown,  both 
from  reason  and  experience,  that  those  are  most  likely 
to  be  eminent  examples  of  personal  and  social  duty, 
who  are  most  sensible  of  what  they  owe  immediately  to 
their  Maker  ;  who  are  most  exact  and  fervent  in  their 
worship  of  Him,  and  most  employed  in  holy  communion 
with  Him.  It  is  certainly  natural  and  reasonable  to 
expect  that  they  who  by  habitual  intercourse  with  the 
Father  of  their  spirits,  become,  as  they  evidently  must 
become,  most  impressed  with  a  sense  of  his  universal 
presence,  of  his  glorious  majesty  and  supreme  authority, 
of  his  boundless  goodness  and  infinite  amiableness, 
should  be  most  exact  and  active  in  obeying  all  his  com- 
mandments, and  among  the  rest  those  which  require 
them  to  ''  make  their  light  shine  before  men,  and  to  do 
good  and  communicate.''  Or  if  the  appeal  be  made  to 
experience,  we  may  safely  challenge  any  opponent  to 
point  us  to  higher  and  better  examples  of  excellence  in 
personal  character,  and  of  active  devotedness  to  doing 


DISCOURSE  IV.  103 

good  to  mankind,  than  have  appeared  among  men  of 
eminent  piety. 

In  giving  rank  and  consequence,  therefore,  to  his 
several  duties,  lie  who  walks  by  the  word  of  God  as  his 
rule,  will  carefully  follow  the  example  which  the  Deity 
himself  has  set  in  the  Decalogue,  and  which  our  Saviour 
regarded  in  declaring  which  was  the  first  and  greatest 
commandment.  His  duties  to  his  Maker  will  have  the 
first  place  in  order  and  importcince.  Piety  to  God  he 
will  consider  as  the  leading  and  essential  part  of  his 
moral  system,  and  as  affording  the  best  security  for  a 
sacred  regard  to  every  other. 

It  is  not  my  intention,  however,  to  extend  the  present 
discussion  to  a  particular  enumeration  and  explana- 
tion of  the  duties  which  we  owe  immediately  to  God. 
Some  of  them  will  necessarily  claim  our  attention,  w  hile 
speaking  of  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  ourselves  and 
to  each  other.  But  it  will  be  observed,  that  almost  the 
whole  of  what  has  been  said  relates  to  the  duties  w  hich 
we  owe  to  God ;  so  that  supposing  what  has  been  stated 
to  be  reduced  to  practice,  a  farther  specification  is  not 
important.  Suppose  a  man  to  be  renewed  in  the  temper 
of  his  mind  ;  to  have  obtained  a  familiar  acquaintance 
with  the  scriptures  ;  to  regard  and  be  governed  by  them 
in  the  maimer  that  has  been  described  ;  to  hold  the  fun- 
damental doctrines  w  hich  have  been  mentioned  ;  and  to 
consider  his  duties  to  God  as  primary  in  their  obliga- 
tion, and  importance ;  and  he  can  ncitlier  be  ignorant  of 


104  DISCOURSE  IV. 

these  duties^  nor  of  the  manner  in  which  they  may  he  ac- 
cepta])ly  and  profitably  performed. 

Of  modes  and  forms  of  worship^  and  of  church  order^ 
it  is  neither  my  duty  nor  my  inclination  to  speak  on  this 
occasion.  Yet  I  must  not  forbear  to  remind  you,  that 
it  is  a  gross  and  pernicious  error  to  suppose,  that  all 
who  may  call  themselves  christians,  hold  every  thing  that 
is  essential  to  Christianity.  Li  the  christian  system  there 
are  essential  doctrines  and  essential  duties ;  so  that 
whoever  deliberately  denies  the  one,  or  habitually 
violates  or  neglects  the  other,  is  utterly  unworthy  of  the 
christian  name.  But  there  are  several  forms  of  chris- 
tian worship  and  church  order,  which  are  so  far  from 
being  essential,  that  men  of  perhaps  equal  holiness  of 
heart  and  life  have  diifered  widely,  in  making  a  choice 
among  them.  In  regard  to  these,  I  have  only  to  say, 
examine  them  carefully  and  candidly  for  yourselves,  and 
"  let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.'' 

Having  already  protracted  this  discourse  to  as  great 
a  length  as  is  customary  in  this  place,  the  consideration 
of  the  duties  which  we  owe  to  ourselves  and  to  each  oth- 
er, must  be  delayed,  till  the  usual  hour  of  worship  in  the 
afternoon.  In  the  mean  time,  meditate  on  what  you  have 
heard  ;  and  may  the  Spirit  of  grace  seal  his  own  truth 
on  each  of  our  hearts  !     Amen. 


DISCOUESE  V. 


THE  WORD  OF  COD  THE  GUIDE  OP  YOUTH. 


PSALM  cxix.  a 

^*  JVJiercivitJial  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?  By 
taking  heed  thereto  according  to  thy  ivord,^^ 

J[N  discoursing  on  this  text  of  sacred  scripture,  it  has 
heen  proposed  to  show — 

I.  What  must  he  the  origin  or  vital  principle  of  the 
temper  and  practice  of  the  young  man,  who  would 
cleanse  and  take  heed  to  liis  way,  according  to  the  word 
of  God. 

II.  The  manner  in  which  he  must  receive  that  word^ 
and  be  taught  and  governed  by  it. 

III.  How  lie  must  estimate  and  perform  the  several 
duties  which  he  owes  to  God,  to  himself,  and  to  his 
fellow  men. 

IV.  The  means  he  must  use  to  secure  an  effectual 
attention  to  his  duty,  and  steadfastness  in  its  perform- 
ance. 

On  the  two  former  of  these  heads  of  discourse  the 
discussion  was  finished  in  the  morning.     We  also  enter- 
ed on  the  consideration  of  the  third :    and  here,  as  the 
first  thing  demanding  attention,  I  endeavoured  to  show, 
that  the  young  man  who  would  take  heed  to  his  way, 


106  DISCOURSE  V. 

according  to  the  divine  word,  must  be  careful  to  make  a 
right  estimate  of  the  relative  importance  of  his  various 
duties,  and  to  place  in  the  first  rank  those  which  re- 
late immediately  to  God.     We  are  now 

2.  To  consider  those  which  he  owes  to  himself  and 
to  his  fellow  men. 

The  duties  which  men  owe  to  themselves,  and  to  each 
other,  are,  in  many  cases,  so  intimately  blended  togeth- 
er, that  to  attempt  to  give  them  an  entirely  separate 
treatment  might  produce  both  obscurity  and  repetition. 
We  will  endeavour  to  take  them  in  such  order  as  shall 
seem  most  favourable  to  clearness  and  utility. 

I  begin  with  stating,  that  the  young  man  who  takes 
heed  to  his  way  according  to  the  word  of  God  will  cher- 
ish a  sacred  and  inviolable  regard  to  truth.  The  obli- 
gations of  truth  in  general  are  admitted  by  all,  and 
the  notorious  violator  of  it  never  fails  to  be  reckoned 
infamous.  No  character  is  more  universally  detested 
and  despised  than  that  of  the  liar ;  and  hence  no  offence 
is  reckoned  more  intolerable  than  the  imputation  of 
this  character.  This  notwithstanding,  loose  moralists 
are  usually  found  to  relax,  in  many  instances  the  obli- 
gation of  truth.  Courteous  falsehoods,  jocular  false- 
hoods, humane  falsehoods,  temporary  falsehoods,  and  if 
the  expression  be  not  a  solecism,  useful  falsehoods,  they 
do  not  condemn,  but  often  justify.  Not  one  of  these, 
however,  will  find  a  justification  in  the  word  of  that 
God  whose  character  it  is,  that  he  cannot  and  will  not 
lie.     Without  doubt  the  degrees  of  guilt  involved  in 


DISCOURSE  V.  107 

different  acts  and  kinds  of  falsehood  are  widely  differ- 
ent ;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  there  are  some  nice 
and  difficult  points  which  may  be  stated  in  relation  to 
this  subject.  But  those  who  found  virtue  on  the  nature 
and  will  of  God  cannot^  after  all,  admit  the  innocence  of 
intentional  falsehood  in  any  case  whatever.  And  in- 
deed if  the  obligation  to  regard  truth  be  derived  from 
utility  alone,  this  will  dictate  an  invariable  adherence 
to  it.  Such  an  adherence  will  not  only  most  effectually 
secure  peace  of  conscience  and  inward  quiet,  but  will 
also  contribute  greatly  to  give  weight  and  respectability 
to  the  whole  character ;  and  thus  to  increase  the  capa- 
city for  usefulness  in  him  who  exhibits  it. 

Integrity  is  closely  connected  with  truth.  Often,  in- 
deed, integrity  is  nothing  else  than  action  conformed  to  the 
dictates  and  obligation  of  truth.  The  man  who  habit- 
ually lives  and  acts  under  a  sense  of  the  divine  inspec- 
tion, and  in  the  expectation  of  giving  an  account  to 
God  for  all  his  actions,  cannot  fail  to  be  upright.  He 
will  avoid  all  guile,  and  fraud,  and  unfaithfulness,  and 
dishonesty,  whatever  prospect  of  gain  may  tempt  him 
to  practice  them ;  or  however  much  he  may  have  it  in 
his  power,  should  he  yield  to  temptation,  to  escape 
shame,  or  punishment,  or  the  loss  of  character,  from 
his  fellow  men.  His  inquiry  will  always  be,  how  can  I 
answer,  in  this  concern,  to  my  conscience,  and  to  the 
all  seeing  God  ?  not,  what  colour  can  I  give  it  ?  or 
what  defence  can  I  make  for  it,  before  the  world  ?  Hence 
fee  will  be  scrupulously  just   in  all   his  dealings  and 


108  DISCOURSE  V.       , 

transactions  with  others.     He  will  walk  strictly  by  the 
rule  of  doing  as  he  would  be  done  by.     He   will  be 
much  more  afraid  of  doing  wrong,  than   of  suffering 
wrong.     You  may  trust  him  without  reserve.     He  will 
never  take  an  advantage  of  you,  bec'iuse  he  can  do  it 
secretly  or  safely.     All  his  contracts  he  holds  sacred, 
and  fulfils  them  in  their  true  intention,   as  well  when 
the  law  cannot  touch  him,  as  when  it  can.     He  punctu- 
ally performs  all  his  promises  and  engagements.     He 
ranks  the  demands  of  justice,  before  those  of  mercy,  or 
liberality,   and  is  therefore  just  before  he  is  generous. 
Money  that  he  owes,  he  never  considers  as  his  own. 
Money  that  is  entrusted  to  his  keeping,  he  feels  no  lib- 
erty, without  the  consent  of  the  owner,  to  apply,  in  any 
way  or  degree,  to  his  own  benefit.     In  dubious  matters 
he  always  endeavours,  as   far  as  possible,  to  keep  on 
safe   ground- — knowing   that,    to    a   prudent  man,    it  is 
much  to  be  safe ;  and  that  to    an  upright  conscientious 
man,  it  is  much  to  be  without  fear  or  suspicion  that  he 
has  done  wrong.      He  discharges  every  official  duty, 
and  performs  every  professional  service,  and  executes 
every   public    and  private   trust,  diligently,  faithfully, 
seasonably  and  fully  5  as  "^  doing  it  to  the   Lord,  and 
not  to  man."      Characters  like  this  are  indeed  rare; 
but  he  who  takes  heed  to    his  way  according  to  the 
ward  of  God,  will  demonstrate  that  such  a  character 
is    not    always    imaginary.     He    will    exhibit    it    in 
himself. 


DISCOURSE  V.  109 

Farther;   the  man  who  makes  the  word  of  God  his 
guide,    will    unite    a   steadfast   adherence    to    what  he 
believes  to  be  truth    and  duty,  with    the   exercise   of 
candour  and  charxtij  toward  those  who  differ  from  him. 
We  are  commanded  "  to  buy  the  trutli  and  sell  it  not ; 
also  wisdom,  and  instruction,  and  understanding."     We 
are  exhorted  "  earnestly  to  contend  for  the  faith  which 
was  once  delivered  to  the  saints.''     He  who  is  obedient 
to  these  injunctions  of  scripture,   never  can  admit  that 
intellectual  error  is  always  innocent ;  that  it  is  no  matter 
what  a  man  believes  if  his  life  be  good  ;  that  any  system 
of  religious  opinions  which  a  man  honestly  holds,  must 
be  safe  for  him,  and  many  sentiments  of  a  kindred  spirit 
with  these.     If  these  notions  were  just,  it  would  be  of 
comparatively  little  importance  to  discover  truth  or  to  em- 
brace it ;  to  contend  for  it  would  be  folly ;  and  to  search 
much  after  it  would  be  useless  trcuble.     But  the  notions 
in  question  contravene,  not  merely  particular  passages, 
but  the  whole  scope  and  spirit  of  scripture,  which  go  to 
teach  us  the  infinite  importance  of  true  religion,  in  op- 
position to  that  which  is  i^dse  and  delusive.     He,  there- 
fore, who  is  governed  by  scripture  can  yield  to  no  such 
opinions  as  these,  whatever  currency  they  may  obtain, 
or  by  whatever  imposing  appellation  they  may  be  dis- 
tinguished.    He  will  neither  adopt  these  opinions,  nor 
act  so  as  to  have  it  understood  that  he  considers  those 
who   have  embraced  radical  errors  as  being  in  a  good 
and  safe  state.    He  cannot  do  this.     Do  you  ask,  tlien, 
in  what  respects  his  candour  and  charity  will  manifest 


110  DISCOURSE  V, 

themselves  ?  I  answer ;  he  will  recollect  that,  although 
there  are  essential   errors,  yet  that  all  error  is  not  es- 
sential ;  he  will  make  therefore  the  due  allowance  for 
what  is  invincible  and  involuntary,  and  of  small  compar- 
ative importance ;  for  that  also  which  is  fairly  imputa- 
ble to   education   and   to   prejudice.      Those  who  err 
through  temptation,  or  any  circumstances  calculated  to 
lead  them  astray,  he  will  regp^rd  with  compassion  and 
treat  with  lenity.     He  will  never  contend  about  trifles. 
He  will   cordially  embrace  in  his   christian  charity  all 
who  appear  to  hold  the  essentials  of  religion,  and  to 
love  and  serve  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity  and 
truth.     He  will  even  mourn  for  the  divisions  that  exist 
among  christians  of  this   character,  and  do  all  that  he 
can  to  heal  them.     And  toward  those  who   hold   the 
most  destructive  errors,  he  will  be   careful    to    guard 
against  all  bitterness  of  spirit ;  all  unchristian  temper 
and  language  in  his  treatment  of  them.     As  he  will  not 
hate  them,  nor  wish  evil  to  them,   he  will  show  them 
every  civility  and  kind  attention  which  he  can,  consist- 
ently with  steadfastness  in  duty  ;  so  that  it   shall  be 
manifest  that  he  differs  from   them  on   principle  and 
with  regret ;  and  would  be  glad  to  see  them  renounce 
their  errors,   and  take  such  ground  as  would  permit 
him  to  receive  and  treat  them  as  brethren.     It  is  thus 
that    he   will   unite   inflexible    attachment   to    essential 
truth,  with  the  candour  and  charity  which  the  gospel 
requires. 


DISCOURSE  y.  Ill 

Again  ;  he  who  is  careful  to  cleanse  his  way  accord- 
ing to  the  word  of  God,  will  ?7iost  vigilantly  guard  him" 
self  against  those  "fleshly  lusts  that  war  against  the 
soul.^^  ^^  Flee  youthful  lusts,'Ms  the  apostolick  injunc- 
tion delivered  to  a  young  man ;  and  he  who  makes  the 
word  of  God  his  rule  of  action  will  regard  it  as  strictly 
binding  on  the  conscience.  Though  corrupted  nature, 
therefore^  plead  for  licentious  indulgence  ;  though  youth 
be  the  season  wlien  temptations  to  it  are  the  strongest ; 
though  fashionaljle  opinion  attach  little  or  no  infamy  to 
such  indulgence  ;  though  even  the  sneer  and  ridicule  of 
the  licentious  themselves  must  be  borne  by  him  who 
scruples  it;  stilly  he  whom  we  contemplate  will  say, 
with  a  young  man  of  old,  "  how  can  I  do  this  great 
wickedness,  and  sin  against  God!'^  He  will,  therefore, 
shun  the  places,  the  amusements,  the  visible  objects, 
the  company  and  conversation,  the  books,  and  even  the 
cherishing  of  those  imaginations,  which  put  his  chastity 
and  personal  purity  at  hazard.  Agreeably  to  the  Apos- 
tolick  precept  already  recited,  he  will  literally  jlee  from 
all  temptations  which  assail  him  on  this  quarter.  Some 
vices  may  be  boldly  met,  contended  with,  and  con- 
quered ;  but  from  all  provocatives  of  impure  desire  and 
indulgence,  safety  is  to  be  sought,  whenever  it  is  prac- 
ticable, by  flight. 

Again ;  no  one  wlio  takes  the  scriptures  for  a  rule 
of  life  can  indulge  in  idleness.  It  is  so  reproachful  to 
those  who  bear  the  christian  name,  that  when  the 
church  was   gathered  from   amongst  the  licathen,  the 


112  DISCOURSE  V. 

apostle  Paul  gave  commandment,  that  if  any  man  would 
not  work  neither  should  he  eat.  No  human  being  is 
entitled  to  be  idle.  His  Maker  has  given  him  faculties 
which  he  is  bound  assiduously  to  cultivate,  and  appoint- 
ed him  duties,  for  the  diligent  performance  of  which  he 
is  strictly  responsible.  Society  also  has  claims  on 
all  its  members,  from  which  no  individual  can  plead 
an  exemption.  But,  though  idleness  is  criminal  at  any 
period  of  life,  it  is  peculiarly  so  in  youth.  This  is  the 
period  which  specially  calls  for  improvement  and  exer- 
tion, because,  if  neglected  now,  the  neglect  can  never 
afterwards  be  fully  repaired.  Every  subsequent  peri- 
od will  have  duties  and  demands  of  its  own  to  fill  it  up  : 
and  if  we  have  to  prepare  for  action  when  we  ought  to 
be  in  action,  we  sustain  a  certain  loss :  we  accomplish 
less  than  we  ought  to  have  accomplished,  and  we  lose 
advantages  which  may  never  again  occur. 

All  our  faculties,  moreover,  become  torpid  by  disuse 
and  inaction.  If  this  takes  place  in  youth,  it  often 
proves  entirely  fatal  to  all  improvement,  usefulness,  or 
respect  :  the  idle  youth  becomes  in  manhood,  a  useless 
and  contemptible  drone.  Generally,  indeed,  the  event 
is  even  worse  than  this.  Idleness  is  the  inlet  of  every 
vice.  Into  the  unoccupied  mind  every  temptation 
easily  enters,  and  seldom  solicits  in  vain.  The  youth, 
therefore,  who  takes  heed  to  his  way  according  to  the 
word  of  God,  will  never  think  it  innocent  to  be  idle. 
He  will  view  his  time  as  one  of  the  most  precious  talents 
with  which  God  has  intrusted  him,   and  he  will  occupy 


DISCOURSE  V.  113 

with  it  unceasingly.  He  will  make  conscience  of  being 
diligently  employed.  He  will  beware,  too,  of  a  kind  of 
busy  idleness :  that  is,  he  will  not  only  be  always 
doing  sometliing,  but  something  that  will  turn  to  account. 
He  will  be  diligent  in  his  proper  employment,  in  ac- 
quiring the  knowledge,  the  ability,  the  preparation, 
which  his  profession  in  life  will  require  ;  or  which  will 
qualify  him  for  the  greatest  usefiiluess  in  that  sphere 
of  life  in  w  hich  he  expects  to  act. 

Again  ;  the  young  man  who  takes  the  word  of  God 
for  his  rule,  will  feel  himself  bound  to  ivithstaud  the 
dictates  of  malignant  and  vindictive  passions^  and  to 
cultivate  those  of  an  opposite  character.  Envy,  and 
anger,  and  malevolence,  and  revenge,  he  will  never 
allow  to  harbour  in  his  bosom.  A  false  maxim  of 
the  world  may  tell  him  that  "  revenge  is  sweet,''  and 
false  honour  may  require  that  he  should  take  personal 
vengeance  for  every  insult.  But  the  gospel  will  have 
taught  him  that  forgiveness  is  sweet ;  that  it  is  a  duty 
which  he  who  refuses  to  perform,  forfeits  his  hope  of 
salvation  ;  that  he  is  not  to  return  evil  for  evil ;  that 
he  is  to  love  and  pray  for  his  enemies ;  and  that  ^'  ven- 
geance belongeth  unto  God.''  He  will,  therefore,  never 
be  a  duellist,  whatever  may  be  the  consequences  of  re- 
fusing a  challenge.  The  law  of  God  is,  with  him,  para- 
mount to  the  laws  of  false  honour — I  say  of  false  honour ; 
for  the  law  of  God  and  genuine  honour  can  nevxr  mil- 
itate.     And  that  surely  must  be  false  honour  which 

requires  a  man,  not  only  to  disobey  his  Maker,  but  to 

Q 


114  DISCOURSE  V. 

act  in  violation  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  society  ; 
in  a  manner,  too,  which  often  destroys  forever  the  peace 
of  him,  who,  in  the  horrible  practice  alluded  to,  kills  his 
neighbour ;  and  which  frequently  also,  inflicts  the  most 
grievous  and  incurable  anguish,  and  sometimes  poverty 
and  helpless  wretchedness,  on  the  innocent,  amiable, 
and  virtuous  relatives  of  him  who  has  fallen.  Assur- 
edly the  man  Avho  takes  heed  to  his  way  according 
to  the  word  of  God,  can  bear  any  thing  that  he  may 
suffer  with  innocence,  rather  than  incur  the  guilt  and 
remorse  which  he  must  incur,  by  making  himself  respon- 
sible for  such  dreadful  evils.  But  let  a  man  act  with 
entire  consistency  ;  let  him  show  himself  a  christian  in 
his  whole  temper  and  deportment ;  and  he  may  decline 
peremptorily  the  murderous  practice  of  duelling,  with- 
out any  real  loss  of  character.  The  men  of  false  hon- 
our cannot,  if  they  try,  make  him  infamous.  With  the 
exception  of  the  most  abandoned,  they  will  themselves 
secretly  respect  and  venerate  him ;  and  the  love  and 
applause  of  the  good  and  pious  he  will  certainly  secure. 
Nothing  is  more  erroneous  that  to  suppose  than  forbear- 
ance, forgiveness,  meekness,  gentleness  and  courtesy, 
are  not  consistent  with  the  most  genuine  magnanimity. 
They  are  not  only  consistent  with  it,  but  they  are  its 
best  support  and  its  brightest  ornament — In  accordance 
with  this, 

I  observe  farther;  that  the  young  man  who  takes 
heed  to  his  way  according  to  the  word  of  God,  will  ai?n 
to  be  distinguished  for  every  excellent  and  praise-worthy 


DISCOURSE  V.  115 

attahvnenf.  Nothing  is  more  injurious  to  ingenu- 
ous youth,  than  to  imbibe  the  notion,  that  fervent 
piety  is  inconsistent  witli  aiming  at  distinction  in  intel- 
lectual improvement,  and  honourable  action.  The  ene- 
mies of  religion  are  fond  of  inculcating  this  notion,  but 
observe  how  the  language  of  inspiration  exposes  its  fal- 
lacy— "  Whatsoever  things  are  true,  whatsoever  tilings 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,  wliatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatso- 
ever things  are  of  good  report,  if  there  be  any  virtue, 
and  if  there  be  any  praise,  think  on  these  things." 
What  can  any  mind,  influenced  by  a  laudable  emulation, 
desire  more  than  this  ?  What  can  it  desire  more  than 
to  aspire  after  all  that  is  virtuous^  and  all  that  is  worthy 
of  praise  ? 

The  error  on  this  subject  may  sometimes  arise  from 
the  circumstance,  that  the  gospel  gives  no  countenance 
to  that  idolatry  of  fame  and  distinction,  so  often  observ- 
ed in  mere  worldly  men,  and  which  they  sometimes 
openly  avow.  The  gospel  teaches  us  to  make  the  glory 
of  God  and  tlie  good  of  his  creatures  the  object  of  su- 
preme regard  ;  and  that  to  these  we  must  be  willing  to 
sacrifice  every  thing  that  comes  in  competition,  even 
character  and  life  itself.  Now,  as  this  is  a  requisition 
evidently  reasonable  in  itself,  so,  I  aflirm,  that  it  is  one 
which  points  to  an  act  of  the  most  genuine  magnanimity. 
It  has  been  well  said,  that  "  nothing  is  truly  great,  the 
contempt  of  which  is  great."  But,  the  slave  of  human 
opinion  is  always  reckoned  a  despicable  character  ;  and 


116  DISCOURSE  V. 

to  rise  superior  to  that  opinion,  however  general,  when 
it  is  manifestly  wrong,  as  it  is  in  the  case  contemplated, 
is  the  act  and  eA'idence  of  a  truly  great  and  elevated  mind. 
And  it  is  precisely  this,  which  is  required  of  the  chris- 
tian. But  his  rule  of  duty  is,  as  we  have  seen,  not  hos- 
tile, but  friendly  and  favourable,  to  all  the  habits,  and 
all  the  exertions,  which  lead  to  high  attainments  in  eve- 
ry thing  excellent.  Accordingly  we  find,  in  fact,  that 
men  of  distinguished  piety  have  often  held  the  highest 
rank  in  literature  and  science,  and  in  every  honourable 
trust  and  employment.  He,  therefore,  who  takes  the 
word  of  God  as  his  rule,  will  find  himself  not  only  per- 
mitted but  required,  to  cultivate  his  faculties  with  con- 
stant diligence,  and  to  aim  steadily  and  vigorously  at 
the  best  attciinments  of  which  he  is  capable,  that  he 
may  be  prepared  to  serve  God  and  his  generation  with 
the  greatest  effect,  and  the  best  title  to  reputation.  He 
wlio  tliinks  or  acts  otlierwise,  mistakes  his  christian 
duty,  as  much  as  he  mistakes  what  is  conducive  to  his 
interest  or  advantageous  to  his  character. 

This  leads  me  to  remark,  farther,  that  the  young  man 
who  takes  tlie  word  of  God  for  his  rule  of  duty,  will  learn 
that  he  is  bound  to  devote  himself  to  the  promotion  of  the 
best  interests  of  mankind.  We  have  already  glanced  at 
this  ;  but  it  is  a  point  w^hich  ought  to  be  made  prominent. 

The  example  of  Christ  should  be  carefully  stud- 
ied and  copied  by  all  Ids  disciples.  He  was  the  liv- 
ing Word  of  God ;  and  the  pious  and  elegant  Home 
seems  to  intimate  that  He  is  distinctly  referred  to  in 


DISCOURSE  V.  117 

the  text.  ^'  He/'  says  Home,  '^  who  became  man 
for  our  salvation,  passed  throiigli  tliis  state  of  youth 
uiidcfiled ;  that  lie  might,  as  it  were,  redaim  and  con- 
secrate it  anew  to  God.  Let  every  young  man  often 
meditate  on  this  circumstance. '^ 

To  set  us  a  perfect  example  was  not,  I  apprehend, 
the  only,  nor  the  chief  purpose,  of  our  Lord's  appear- 
ance in  the  flesh.  Yet  it  was,  doubtless,  one  purpose, 
and  an  important  one.  Now,  tliis  example,  as  it  was 
exhibited  in  the  active  part  of  our  Saviour's  life,  is  thus 
epitomized  by  an  inspired  speaker — '^  He  went  about 
doing  good.''  This,  too,  was  eminently  characteristic 
of  his  apostles,  after  his  death  ;  and  it  must,  in  their 
proper  measure,  characterize  his  sincere  followers,  in 
every  age.  I  take  it,  indeed,  to  be  one  distinguishing 
feature  of  the  Bible  system  of  ethicks,  that  it  inculcates 
a  benevolence  warmer,  purer,  more  active,  and  more 
extensive  than  any  other  system.  The  influence  of  the 
gospel  has  abated  the  ferocity  of  war,  and  filled  Chris- 
tendom with  hospitals,  poor  houses,  and  charitable  asso- 
ciations ;  institutions  unknown  to  the  most  refined  na- 
tions of  heatlien  antiquity.  \\\  a  word,  the  gospel  every 
where  breathes  a  spirit  and  speaks  a  language  like  this — 
*•  Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things,  but  evei'y 
man,  also,  on  the  things  of  others.  Let  this  mind  be  in 
you,  which  was  also  in  Christ  Jesus."  The  young  man, 
therefore,  who  takes  his  views  of  life  as  here  directed, 
will  perceive  distinctly  that  his  great  o])ject  in  living 
must  be  to  do  good :  and  this,   if  he  drink  deeply  into 


118  DISCOURSE  V. 

the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  will  be  the  ruling  principle  of 
his  soul.  Fame  or  reputation  may  follow  him  if  it  will, 
and  it  often  will.  But  so  far  from  making  it  the  su- 
preme object  of  his  regard,  he  will  be  afraid  of  being 
unduly  governed  by  it ;  afraid  lest,  by  too  much  ming- 
ling with,  it  should  debase,  the  high  and  holy  motive 
which  ought  to  influence  him — a  desire  to  imitate  and 
obey  his  Redeemer,  in  glorifying  God  and  in  doing 
good  to  man.  Feeling  strongly  this  desire,  he  will 
consult  how  he  may,  in  every  way,  most  extensively 
promote  the  best  interests  of  mankind  ;  how  he  may 
advance  both  their  spiritual  and  temporal  happiness. 
The  result  will  be  a  vigorous  and  persevering  activity 
in  endeavouring  to  extend  the  blessings  of  the  gospel ; 
to  promote  learning  and  science ;  to  aid  all  charitable 
designs,  and  humane  and  benevolent  enterprises  and 
institutions  ;  to  ameliorate  tlie  condition  of  as  many  of 
his  fellow  creatures  as  possible  ; — of  a  few,  if  not  of 
many  ; — of  one,  if  not  of  more. 

It  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  guard  what  I  have 
just  said  by  remarking,  that  an  ardent  desire  to  pro- 
mote the  w  elfare  of  mankind  at  large,  ought  never  to  in- 
terfere \\  ith  the  reasonable  claims  of  those  who  are  more 
nearly  connected  with. us.  Till  these  claims  have  been 
fairly  satisfied,  or  provided  for,  we  are  certainly  not 
permitted  to  indulge  in  a  diffusive  liberality.  He  who 
is  devoted  to  doing  good,  must  never  neglect  to  make  a 
suitable  provision  for  himself,  for  his  family,  and  for  all 
who  arc  dependent  on  him^  or  who  have  a  right  to  look 


DISCOURSE  V.  119 

to  him  for  support  or  assistance.  These  have  been 
placed  by  the  God  of  providence  more  immediately 
under  his  care ;  and  it  is  by  benefiting  them,  by  promo- 
ting as  far  as  possible  their  temporal  and  eternal  well 
being,  tliat  a  large  and  essential  part  of  the  good,  which 
he  can  ever  do  in  the  world,  must  be  done.  And  if 
every  man  would  take  effectual  care  of  his  own  family, 
and  do  all  that  he  might  in  the  several  smaller  depart- 
ments of  society  in  which  he  has  most  influence,  the 
demand  for  general  beneficence  would  be  greatly 
diminished.  This  is  worthy  of  remembrance.  But,  in 
truth,  there  is  comparatively  little  danger  that  a  man 
will  not  reserve  a  suflicient  portion  of  his  property  for 
the  use  of  himself  and  his  kindred.  Almost  the  whole 
danger  is  of  the  other  extreme — that  he  will  be  selfish, 
covetous  and  contracted.  More  than  a  hundred  exam- 
amples  of  this  are  seen,  for  one  where  a  man  defrauds 
or  injures  his  family  by  giving  too  largely  to  ciiaritable 
objects.  The  duty  that  he  owes  to  his  famihjj  is  the 
miser's  standing  plea  for  hoarding  his  wretched  pelf. 
But  he  who  takes  the  Bible  for  his  guide  will  consider 
himself  as  the  steward  of  God^s  bounty  in  all  that  he 
possesses  ;  and  he  will  give  no  more  to  his  children,  or 
relatives,  than,  in  the  exercise  of  his  best  judgment,  he 
verily  believes  is  likely  to  do  them  the  most  good ;  to 
make  them  the  best  and  most  useful  members  of  society, 
and  the  fairest  candidates  for  a  heavenly  inheritance. 
All  the  rest,  be  it  little  or  much,  he  will,  without 
grudging,  expend  in  acts  of  beneficence ;  in  propagating 


120  DISCOURSE  V. 

true  religion ;  in  promoting  good  morals  ;  in  enlighten- 
ing the  ignorant ;  in  relieving  the  sick^  the  poor  and 
the  needy ;  in  protecting  the  helpless ;  in  patronizing 
the  worthy ;  in  succouring  the  widow  and  the  orphan  ; 
in  diffusing  happiness  through  every  circle,  great  or 
small,  in  which  he  moves  and  acts :  so  that  the  world 
shall  be  the  better  for  his  being  in  it,  and  he  be  prepar- 
ed to  leave  it  without  reluctance,  whenever  he  shall  be 
called  to  "  enter  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord." 

Thus  have  I  endeavoured  to  show  how  the  young 
man  who  takes  the  divine  word  as  his  unerring  coun- 
sellor and  guide,  will  estimate  and  perform  the  several 
duties  which  he  owes  to  God,  to  himself  and  to  his  fel- 
low men.     Let  us  now,  very  briefiy  consider — 

IV.  The  means  he  must  use  to  secure  an  eifectual 
attention  to  his  duty,  and  steadfastness  in  its  perform- 
ance. 

When  a  good  rule  of  conduct  has  been  cordially  and 
zealously  adopted,  an  important  point  is  gained  ;  but 
a  far  more  difficult  thing  is  still  to  be  effected,  for  such 
it  will  be  found,  to  conform  steadily  and  habitually 
to  that  rule,  and  to  guard  against  every  seduction 
from  it.  Here  it  is,  indeed,  that  in  every  thing 
which  relates  to  practice  the  danger  of  failure  is  the 
greatest.  A  young  man  may  sincerely  admit  both 
the  truth  and  the  importance  of  all  that  has  now  been 
said  on  this  subject,  and  yet  his  practice  may  be  sadly 
at  variance  with  it,  in  many  particulars.  In  order  actu- 
allv   to   live  as  he   admits   that   he  ought,  and  in  his 


DISCOURSE  V.  121 

deliberate  purpose  is  resolved  that  he  will,  he  must  con- 
stantly and  emphatically  "  take  heed."  This  is  un- 
doubtedly implied  in  the  text.  When  we  are  directed 
to  take  heed,  there  is  always  an  intimation  that  some 
danger,  or  inconvenience,  or  mistake,  is  to  be  watched 
against  and  avoided.  To  be  heedful^  is  to  be  attentive, 
cautious,  wary,  circumspect,  vigilant.  To  be  heedlessy 
is  to  be  thoughtless,  careless,  and  fearless.  He,  there- 
fore, who,  in  the  spirit  of  the  text,  "  takes  heed  to  his 
way,"  must  be  deeply  sensible  that  the  path  of  life  is 
beset  with  dangers,  snares,  and  temptations  :  that  he  is 
liable  to  be  deceived  and  seduced  from  the  right  course  ; 
or  to  mistake  it  and  depart  from  it  through  inattention, 
or  because  efforts  may  be  required  in  pursuing  it,  which 
he  will  find  too  painful,  and  too  frequent,  for  him  to 
make. 

In  these  circumstances,  if  he  expects  to  pursue  ^^  the 
w^ay"  of  duty  steadfastly  and  successfully,  let  him  daily 
read  and  ponder  that  unerring  word  which  he  has  taken 
for  his  guide.  Let  him  set  before  himself  the  rewards 
and  punishments  which  it  exhibits,  and  yield  his  mind 
to  the  hopes  and  fears  which  it  addresses.  Let  him 
labour  to  impress  its  sacred  truths,  and  maxims,  and 
directions  deeply  on  his  memory.  Let  him  resolve  all 
doubtful  points  of  duty  by  a  recurrence  to  his  infallible 
test.  Let  him  cultivate  a  sense  of  his  weakness  and 
proneness  to  err,  and  pray,  daily  and  earnestly,  for  the 
guidance  and  the  aids  of  divine  grace.  Let  him  fre- 
quently and  carefully  examine  and  compare  his  temper, 

R 


122  DISCOURSE  V. 

and  his  whole  conduct^  by  the  standard  which  he  has 
adopted.  When  he  perceives,  as  he  often  will  per- 
ceive, that  he  has  wandered  from  the  path  of  duty,  or 
come  short  of  its  requisitions,  let  him  lay  himself 
open,  honestly,  to  the  reproof  of  the  divine  word. 
Let  him  humbly  and  earnestly  seek  forgiveness,  and 
watch  and  pray  against  a  repetition  of  his  defection  or 
offence.  Let  him  be  guarded  in  his  whole  walk,  and 
careful  of  any  unnecessary  exposure  to  temptation.  In 
fine,  with  the  word  of  God  imprinted  on  his  memory 
and  his  heart,  let  him  vigilantly  and  vigorously  exert 
himself  to  perform  his  whole  duty ;  looking  for  grace 
and  strength  from  on  high  ;  trusting  to  the  providence 
of  God  to  order  all  his  lot  in  life,  and  putting  himself, 
in  daily,  solemn  acts  of  devotion,  into  the  divine  keep- 
ing and  protection.  Doing  this — though  he  will  never 
be  a  perfect  man,  yet  he  will  so  walk  by  the  word  of 
God  as  to  have  an  humble  confidence  before  him,  and  "  a 
peace"  in  his  soul  "  which  passeth  all  understanding.'' 

My  young  friends — 

Candidates  for  the  honours  of  this  institution,  in  the 
ensuing  week — 

It  had  been  practicable  and  easy  to  address  you  in  a  far 
different  manner  from  that  which  I  have  adopted  in  the 
discussion  which  has  just  been  closed — possibly  in  a  man- 
ner that  would  have  been  more  acceptable*  But  at  this 
time  I  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  choose  other  ground,  than 
that  which  I  have  taken.  Your  religious  instruction  in  this 


DISCOURSE  V.  123 

institution  has  been  formally  and  solemnly  committed  to 
me.  On  this  occasion  I  was  to  finish,  as  it  relates  to 
you,  the  discharge  of  this  sacred  trust.  To  the  most  of 
you,  I  shall  probably  never  speak  again  on  the  concerns 
of  your  souls ; — never,  perhaps,  after  the  ensuing  week, 
meet  you  again,  till  I  meet  you  in  the  final  judgment,  to 
Tender  our  mutual  and  solemn  account ; — I  for  the  man- 
ner in  which  I  shall  have  endeavoured  to  lead  you  to 
God  and  heaven,  and  you  for  the  manner  in  which  you 
will  have  received  and  improved  my  counsels  and 
warnings.  Fearful,  indeed,  had  been  my  responsibility, 
if  I  had  given  you  any  superficial  view  of  religion  and 
morals  ; — any  other  view  than  that  which,  according  to 
my  best  judgment,  the  Bible  gives  ;  and  which  you 
have  now  heard  imperfectly  delineated  and  explained. 
Your  eternal  salvation,  I  verily  believe,  depends  on 
your  having  such  a  religion,  in  the  main  features  of  it, 
as  I  have  now  pointed  out ;  evidenced,  substantially,  by 
such  a  conduct  as  you  have  heard  described.  Most 
earnestly  and  tenderly,  therefore,  I  entreat  and  conjure 
V  you,  to  remember  what  has  now  been  said,  and  to  lay 
it  seriously  to  heart.  Suffer  not  the  morning  of  life  to 
pass,  without  seeking  the  effectual  grace  of  God,  and  a 
vital  union  with  Christ,  as  indispensable  to  your  safety 
and  happiness. 

Genius  and  science  sometimes  seem  as  if  they  invited 
and  hastened  the  approach  of  the  king  of  terrors.  Thus  it 
was,  you  know,  in  regard  to  Barratiere,  and  Beattie,  and 
White,  and  to  their  names;  might  parental  partiality  be 


124  DISCOURSE  V. 

trusted,  I  should  add  another — the  name  of  a  son,  whom 
I  loved  too  much.  That  son,  a  few  years  ago,  stood,  ex- 
actly as  you  do  now,  to  receive  the  farewell  address  of 
my  eloquent  predecessor.*  But  the  speaker  and  the 
hearer  are  both  gone.  The  president  and  the  pupil  are 
now  together  in  the  dust  of  death.  Yes  ;  and  the  pres- 
ident and  pupils  who  are  now  standing  face  to  face,  musL 
follow  them  speedily — God  only  knows  how  speedily — 
to  "  the  clods  of  the  valley.''  Father  of  mercies  !  thy 
will  be  done.  Prepare  us  for  thy  blissful  presence,  and 
send  for  us  when  thou  wdlt. 

But,  my  young  friends,  not  only  did  the  high  and 
awful  concerns  of  your  souls'  eternal  welfare  dictate  this 
address,  but  a  persuasion,  also,  that  what  you  have 
heard,  will,  if  duly  regarded,  best  promote  your  happi- 
ness, your  improvement,  your  usefulness^  and  your  hon- 
our in  the  present  life. 

False  or  formal  religion  may,  I  know,  bolster  up 
the  mind  in  a  temporary  peace.  But,  beside  the  all 
important  consideration,  that  the  destructive  delusion 
must  vanish  at  death,  it  is,  even  for  the  present 
life,  a  cold  and  precarious  system.  It  imparts  little 
positive  pleasure,  and  the  shocks  and  trials  of  life 
often  shake  it  to  pieces,  scatter  it  to  the  winds,  and 
leave  its  wretched  victims  without  a  refuge,  when  they 
need  it  most.  True  evangelical  piety,  at  once  rational 
and  fervent,  animates  and  elevates  the  soul ;  it  affords, 
sometimes,  a  prelibation  on  earth  of  tlie  pleasures  of 

*  See  uote  H  at  the  end  of  the  volume. 


DISCOURSE  V.  125 

heaven  ;  it  often  causes  its  possessor  to  rejoice  even  in 
tribulation  ;  and  it  gives  him,  generally,  a  peace  and 
serenity  which  the  vicissitudes  of  life  cannot  destroy, 
nor  lastingly  impair.  As,  then,  you  would  be  happy, 
both  here  and  hereafter,  seek  happiness  in  "  pure  re- 
ligion, and  undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father." 

In  regard  to  improvement  in  all  that  is  praiseworthy, 
who  is  so  likely  to  pursue  it  steadily  and  successfully  as 
he  who  adds  to  the  ardent  love  and  desire  of  it,  which 
religion  does  not  forbid,  the  strong  motive  of  a  consci- 
entious discharge  of  duty  ?  Yes,  my  young  friends,  if 
you  conduct  your  studies  on  the  principles  which  have 
now  been  explained,  you  vfill  consider  it  as  a  part  of 
the  duty  you  owe  to  God  to  improve  your  time  and 
your  talents  to  the  utmost.  You  wall  certainly  show, 
and  I  am  peculiarly  desirous  that  you  should  show,  that 
orthodox  principles  and  fervent  piety  are  not  hos- 
tile, but  favourable,  to  the  highest  and  most  various 
attainments  of  science. 

Usefulness,  I  am  sure,  will  be  best  of  all  promoted  by 
the  system  I  have  been  recommending.  We  are  ever 
most  likely  to  reach  that  which  we  aim  at  uniformly  and 
vigorously.  Now,  to  be  useful  and  to  do  good,  is,  you 
have  heard,  to  be  regarded  as  your  great  object  in 
life.  This  will  certainly  gain  you  reputation,  and  en- 
sure to  you  publick  approbation  and  publick  trust. 
In  our  free  and  happy  country,  the  able  man,  the  man 
of  unbending  integrity,  the  benevolent  and  useful  man, 
will  always  be  employed,  and  placed  in  publick  and  con- 


1Z6  DISCOURSE  V. 

fidential  stations.  He  will  be,  at  once,  the  happiest 
man  in  domestick  and  social  life,  and  the  fairest  candi- 
date for  his  country's  honours. 

In  a  word,  the  more  you  examine  it,  the  more  you 
will  find  that  the  system  now  laid  before  you,  best  con- 
sults your  whole  interests,  both  in  time  and  in  eternity. 
It  is  the  Bible  system — And  in  hope  that  what  is  done 
at  this  interesting  moment  of  bidding  you  farewell,  may 
impress  and  remain  on  your  memory,  I  now  hold  up 
before  you  this  sacred  Volume,  and  solemnly  charge  you 
to  receive  and  regard  it  as  your  guide  through  life; 
and  may  the  God  of  all  grace  enable  both  you  and  me 
to  cleave  to  ^^  the  way"  in  which  this  Holy  Book  directs 
us  to  walk,  till  we  meet  before  his  throne  on  high ! — 
Amen. 


DISCOUESE  YL 


CflRISTIAN  INTEGRITY  EXPLAINED  AND  RECOMMENDED. 

II  CORINTHIANS,  I.  12. 

^^  For  our  rejoicing  is  this,  the  testimo7iy  of  our  conscience^ 
that  in  simplicity  and  godly  sijtcerity,  not  with  Jieshly 
wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,  lue  have  had  our 
conversation  in  the  world,  and  more  abundantly  to 
you-wardP 

JLN  this  passage  the  apostle  Paul  points  out  the  source, 
from  which  he  and  his  fellow  labourers  in  the  gospel 
derived  their  support  and  consolation,  amidst  all  the 
difficulties  and  dangers  which  they  were  called  to  en- 
counter. He  had  just  been  speaking  of  "  the  trouble 
which  came  to  them  in  Asia/^  by  which  they  "  were 
pressed  out  of  measure,  above  strength,  insomuch  that 
they  despaired  even  of  life/'  In  connexion  with  this, 
and  the  intimation  that  their  deliverance  was  in  answer 
to  the  prayers  of  the  church,  the  apostle  introduces  the 
text — In  discoursing  upon  it,  my  purpose  is  to  show  that 
what  St.  Paul  experienced,  will  be  the  experience  of 
all,  who  shall  act  upon  the  same  principles  and  in  the 
same  manner  that  he  did.  With  this  view,  I  will  en- 
deavour 


128  DISCOURSE  VI. 

I.  To  explain  what  is  implied  in  "  having  our  conver- 
sation in  the  world  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  not 
with  fleshly  wisdom  but  by  the  grace  of  God." 

II.  To  show  that  he  who  has  "  the  testimony  of  his 
conscience,"  that  the  tenour  of  his  life  has  been  of  this 
description  will  have  a  source  of  inward  peace  and  sat- 
isfaction that  nothing  can  destroy. 

I.  In  explaining  what  is  implied  in  "  having  our  con- 
versation in  the  world,  in  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity, 
not  with  fleshly  wisdom,  but  by  the  grace  of  God,"  I 
begin  with  remarking,  that  there  is  an  opposition  stated 
in  the  text  between  fleshly  wisdom,  and  godly  simpli- 
city. By  noticing  this  opposition  distinctly,  by  at- 
tending carefully  to  the  contrasted  terms  and  phrases 
which  occur  in  the  passage,  we  shall  be  likely  to  ob- 
tain the  clearest  and  fullest  views  of  what  the  inspired 
penman  desired  to  recommend. 

What  then  are  we  to  understand  by  ^^  fleshly  wis- 
dom" ?  The  phrase,  I  think,  may  designate  two  systems 
of  conduct,  both  of  which  deserve  our  notice. 

In  the  first  place ;  fiesh  is  a  term  sometimes  used 
in  scripture  to  express,  generally,  the  state  of  those  who 
are  destitute  of  true  religion.  Thus  we  are  told  that 
''  they  who  are  after  the  flesh,  do  mind  the  things  of 
the  flesh,"  and  that  "  they  who  are  in  the  flesh  cannot 
please  God."  Fleshly  wisdom,  according  to  this  sense 
of  the  term  fleshy  may  signify  the  same  as  unsanctified 
sagacity,  or  mere  worldly  prudence.  A  system  of  ac- 
tion in  which  meji^  from  a  regard  to  their  temporal  in- 


\ 


DISCOURSE  VI.  129 

terest  solely,  without  any  reverence  for  religion,  may 
adopt  and  pursue,  with  much  skill  and  success,  the 
means  of  advancing  themselves  in  the  world,  or  of  se- 
curing renown  with  succeeding  generations.  There 
certainly  appear  to  be  some,  who,  either  from  the  senti- 
ments of  a  mind  which  naturally  abhors  artifice,  chi- 
chane  and  disguise,  or  from  the  influence  of  education 
and  example,  maintain  a  character  for  open  and  upright 
conduct,  in  their  intercourse  with  the  world,  while  re- 
ligious considerations  have  little  or  no  influence  on  their 
minds.  They  have  the  good  sense  to  discern  that  inflex- 
ible integrity  is  favourable  to  a  high  standing  in  society, 
as  well  as  to  a  lasting  fame.  They  have,  also,  a  pride 
in  their  honesty,  and  they  scorn  to  violate  it.  Fleslily 
wisdom,  thus  exercised,  may  lead,  you  perceive,  to  a 
degree  of  simplicity  and  sincerity  of  conduct,  resembling 
that  which  proceeds  from  religious  principle.  The  re- 
spects in  which  they  difi'er,  for  difier  they  do,  we  shall 
afterwards  consider. 

But  secondly ;  the  term  fiesh  is  most  commonly  used 
in  the  sacred  scriptures  to  denote,  in  a  peculiar  man- 
ner, the  whole  system  of  corrupt  and  mischievous  pro- 
pensities, passions  and  desires,  of  our  nature.  Thus 
it  is  used  when  it  is  said  that  '*  the  flesh  lusteth  against 
the  Spirit  and  the  Spirit  against  the  flesh ;  and  these 
are  contrary  the  one  to  the  other  :*'  and  shortly  after 
the  inspired  writer  adds,  '*  Now  the  works  of  the  flesh 
are  manifest,  which  are    these,    adulterv.  fornication; 

s 


130  DISCOURSE  VL 

iincleanness^  idolatry^  witchcraft,  hatred,  variance,  em- 
ulations, wrath,  strife,  seditions,  heresies,  envying,  mur- 
ders, drunkenness,  revellings,  and  such  like.'^  Hence  we 
are  required  to  ^^  crucify  the  flesh  with  its  affections 
and  lusts  ;"  and  are  informed  that  "  if  we  live  after  the 
flesh  we  shall  die ;  but  if  we,  through  the  Spirit,  do 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body  we  shall  live." 

Fleshly  wisdom,  according  to  this  sense  of  the  term 
Jiesh,  must  mean  that  art  and  management  by  which  a 
worldly  and  wicked  man,  seeks  the  gratification  of  un- 
lawful  or   unworthy   desires,    under   the  mask  of  fair 
professions  or  appearances  :  or,  more  generally,  it  com- 
prehends every  dishonest  principle  or  unrighteous  plan, 
every  species  of  deceit,  fraud,  duplicity  and  unlawful 
disguise,  which  a  vicious  man  may  adopt  or  pursue,  for 
the  attainment  of  his  selfish  or  wicked  ends.     It  is  this 
kind  of  fleshly  wisdom  that  instructs   a  man  never  to 
utter  an  unwelcome  truth,  whatever  prospect  there  may 
be  of  doing  good  by  it.     It  teaches  him  always  to  watch 
the  current  of  popular  and  fashionable  opinion,  and  turn 
it  to  his  own  fame  or  interest.     It  leads  him  to  tempo- 
rize, and  accommodate  himself  to  whatever  sentiments 
or   practice  will,  in  his  opinion,  promote  his  worldly 
advantage.      It  enables  and  disposes  him  to  mark  the 
oversights  and  weaknesses  of  men  and  to  profit  by  them. 
It  prepares  him,  in  a  thousand  ways,  to  overreach  and 
make  tools  of  others,  so  as  to  render  them  subservient  to 
his  own  purposes,  and  it  disposes  him  never  to  miss 


DISCOURSE  VI.  131 

the  opportunity  of  doing  it.  In  a  word,  having  set 
up  self  as  his  idol,  the  man  of  fleshly  wisdom  most  as- 
siduously worships  it,  and  uses  all  his  prudence,  talents, 
and  invention,  to  make  every  thing  serve  or  honour  it. 
Now,  to  proceed  in  this  manner  successfully,  requires 
great  skill  and  management  ;  and  hence  the  art  is  cal- 
led xvisdoni.     Its  object  is  the  flesh;  and  hence  it  is 

There  is,  you  observe,  a  most  material  difference  be- 
tween this  character  and  the  one  before  described ; 
though  both  are  destitute  of  religion.  Both  are  formed  by 
a  supreme  regard  to  the  things  of  the  present  life.  But 
the  possessor  of  the  former,  chuses  to  prosecute  his  views 
along  the  high  road  of  honour  and  integrity  ;  the  pos- 
sessor of  the  latter  condescends  to  pursue  them  through 
all  the  windings  and  labyrinths  of  intrigue,  cunning  and 
deception.  The  apostle's  character,  in  which  simplicity 
and  godly  sincerity  were  conspicuous,  differed  essen- 
tiallv  from  both.  It  differed  from  the  former,  most  man- 
ifestly,  in  the  pn?}ciple  on  which  it  wiis  formed.  While 
worldly  prudence,  as  we  have  remarked,  regards  only 
the  things  of  the  present  life  ;  christian  simplicity  is 
produced  principally  from  a  regard  to  God  and  eternity. 
You  will  take  notice  that  the  author  of  our  text  ascribes 
it  to  the  grace  of  God,  as  the  ultimate  and  eflicient 
cause,  that  he  had  been  enabled  to  pursue  such  a  con- 
versation in  the  world  as  he  actually  did.  It  was  from 
this  principle,  as  the  vital  root,  that  his  unblemished 
integrity  sprang  up  and  was  nourished.     Hence  it  is 


132  DISCOURSE  VI. 

called  a  godly  sincerity.  The  grace  of  God  was  both 
its  origin  and  support.  Divine  grace^  by  transforming 
and  renewing  his  mind,  had  taught  liim  to  "  set  his  af- 
fections on  things  above,  and  not  on  things  on  the 
earth.'^  It  had  taught  him  to  consider  God  as  his  por- 
tion, Christ  as  his  Saviour,  and  the  precepts  of  the 
gospel  as  his  rule  of  life.  It  had  taught  him  to  do  every 
thing  with  a  view  to  the  glory  of  his  Creator,  and  with 
a  reference  to  eternity.  It  had  tinctured  his  whole 
soul  with  a  warm  love  to  his  Redeemer,  and  the  good 
of  immortal  souls.  Divine  grace,  constantly  afforded, 
had  enabled  him  to  maintain  a  perpetual  sense  of  the 
divine  presence  i  to  remember  that  his  soul  was  always 
naked  and  open  to  the  eye  of  that  God  with  whom  he 
had  to  do ;  and  that  very  shortly,  he  was  to  render  a 
strict  account  for  every  deed  done  in  the  body,  whether 
it  were  good  or  evil.  By  the  grace  of  God  he  had  been 
taught  these  things  ;  and  by  the  same  blessed  light  and 
influence  they  had  penetrated  deeply  into  his  mind,  and 
formed  all  its  principles  and  habits.  Hence  simplicity 
and  sincerity,  in  all  his  conversation  with  the  world, 
would  naturally  proceed.  Hence,  in  fact,  he  delivered 
the  unadulterated  doctrines  of  Jesus,  in  all  their  extent 
and  purity ;  without  concealing  any  part  of  their  na- 
ture, tendency  or  consequences.  Confiding  in  the  in- 
finite power  and  wisdom  of  the  Master  whom  he  served, 
and  that  they  would  be  exerted  to  give  such  effect  to 
honest  endeavours  as  was  most  desirable,  he  refused 
utterly  the  base  aid  of  deception   and   dissimulation. 


DISCOURSE  VI.  133 

Impressed  with  the  recollection  that  God  was  the  God 
of  truth,  he  would  have  trembled  at  the  thoui^ht  of  em- 
ploying any  species  of  falsehood  or  delusion  in  his  ser- 
vice. For  the  same  reason,  in  all  the  common  transac- 
tions which  form  what  is  here  called  **  our  conver- 
sation in  the  world/'  simplicity  and  sincerity  distinguish- 
ed his  thoughts,  his  words  and  his  actions.  His  lan- 
guage was  not  a  covert,  dark,  ambiguous  set  of  words, 
that  might  take  various  senses,  or  be  construed  into 
any.  It  was  the  clear,  plain  and  simple  expression 
of  what  in  his  soul  he  believed,  desired  and  pursued. 
His  ends  and  designs  were  not  disavowed,  while  he 
prosecuted  them  in  secret.  He  professed  them  can- 
didly, and  followed  them  conspicuously.  Such  was  the 
general  conduct  of  the  Apostle,  as  referred  to  in  the 
text :  and  it  differs,  I  repeat,  from  mere  worldly  hones- 
ty in  its  principle — in  originating  from  a  deep  and  tender 
sense  of  accountableness  to  God.  The  two  systems  pro- 
duce, in  a  degree,  the  same  external  and  visible  effects. 
But  the  internal  views  and  motives  of  the  mind  are  ex- 
ceedingly dissimilar.  The  honesty  of  worldly  men 
takes  its  origin  from  a  respect  to  the  things  of  time,  and 
is  influenced  chiefly  by  a  regard  to  the  opinions  of  men. 
Christian  simplicity  springs  from  the  faith  of  things 
eternal,  and  regards  above  all  things  the  command  and 
authority  of  God.  The  former  terminates  its  views  in 
self  applause  or  advantage  ;  the  latter  in  the  approba- 
tion of  the  Most  High.  The  one  makes  the  concerns 
of  the  present  state  supreme :  the  other  makes   them 


134  DISCOURSE   VI. 

all  subordinate  and  subservient  to  a  better  and  an  eternal 
state.  This  difference  I  thought  it  proper  distinctly 
to  exhibit^  because  it  is  real ;  because  it  is  useful  to  see 
the  various  foundations  on  which  conduct  somev^hat 
similar  may  rest ;  and  because^  if  I  mistake  not^  it  shows 
that  the  sentiments  of  honesty^  candour  and  integrity, 
which  are  founded  on  religious  considerations,  are  in- 
comparably the  most  stable,  extensive  and  durable ;  and 
that  they  are  those  only  which,  with  any  propriety,  can 
lea,d  us  to  expect  the  divine  approbation  and  reward. 
If  wx  have  no  regard  for  God  in  our  actions,  let  them 
be  in  their  tendency  what  they  may,  it  is  absurd  to  sup- 
pose that  He  will  accept  them,  in  the  same  manner  as  if 
we  had  such  a  regard.  With  the  heart-searching  Jeho- 
vah motive  gives  its  character  to  all  that  we  do.  "  Their 
w^orks,''  said  our  Saviour,  '*  they  do  to  be  seen  of  men^ 
and  verily  I  say  unto  you  they  have  their  reward.'' 

But  having  given  this  general  view  of  the  subject, 
and  explained  the  origin  or  foundation  of  Godly  sincer- 
ity ;  I  am  now  to  remark  that  it  is,  in  a  most  peculiar 
manner,  opposed  to  fleshly  wisdom,  considered  as  a  sys- 
tem of  deliberate  deception,  and  was,  I  suppose,  princi- 
pally intended  by  the  apostle  to  be  so  taken.  Let  us, 
then,  for  a  few  moments  pursue  this  contrast,  and  mark 
a  number  of  points  in  which  it  most  remarkably  takes 
place.  These,  indeed,  have  been  in  a  degree  anticipa- 
ted. But  the  subject  will  justify  a  short  presentment 
of  the  same  ideas  under  different  aspects,  for  the  sake 
of  a  fuller  illustration. 


DISCOURSE   VI.  135 

Fb'st ;  the  cnds^  or  objects,  which  fleshly  wisdom 
pursues,  are  kept  out  of  sight ;  while  a  man  of  real  sim- 
plicity or  sincerity  fairly  and  frankly  avows  his  aims 
and  intentions.  If  the  apostle  had  been  under  the  in- 
fluence of  fleshly  wisdom,  as  his  enemies  represented 
him  to  be,  his  object  in  preaching  the  gospel  would 
liave  been  personal  applause,  and  the  popular  influence 
and  respect  which  he  might  acquire  by  it.  This  would 
have  been  the  real  design  of  his  labours,  and  his  relig- 
ious exhortations  would  have  been  no  more  than  a  cov- 
ert vehicle,  to  carry  him  forward  to  this  end.  But, 
influenced  as  he  was  by  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity^ 
he  actually  pursued  those  ends,  and  no  other  than  those, 
which  he  professed  to  the  world.  An  earnest  desire  to 
promote  the  cause  of  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  souls, 
if  you  could  have  seen  his  naked  heart,  would  have  been 
found  predominating  there,  directing  his  whole  practice, 
engrossing  his  whole  concern,  and  cheering  and  animating 
his  whole  soul.  This  contrast  is  the  same  in  all  cases. 
The  man  of  fleshly  wisdom  conceals  his  ends.  They 
are  unlawful,  or  mean,  or  in  some  way  dishonourable 
and  he  is  ashamed  to  reveal  them.  They  need  disguise 
and  must  be  covered.  The  man,  perhaps,  is,  in  appear- 
ance, a  flaming  patriot  ;  while,  in  reality,  he  is  only 
seeking  power,  or  gain  for  himself.  Or  he  is  extremely 
civil  or  courteous ;  and  yet  has  no  other  view  than  to 
make  you  instrumental  to  his  own  emolument.  Or  he 
appears  very  fair  and  obliging  in  his  dealings,  and 
yet   his   real    object  is   only  to  get  you    fully    in   his 


136  DISCOUBSE  TL 

power  and  to  defraud  you  of  what  you  possess.     But  it 
would  be  endless  to  enumerate  all  the  vile  purposes^  ^ 
which  this  fleshly  wisdom  may  suggest  to  different  men, 
according  to   their  various  situations  or  employments 
in  life.   To  all  of  them,  however,  a  mind  in  which  simpli- 
city and  sincerity  reigns,  will  be  irreconcilably  opposed. 
It  will  fear,  hate,  and  despise  them  all.     It  will  permit  a 
man  to  make  no  professions  which  are  not  sincere.    Does 
he  profess  to  be  a  christian  ?    He  is  one  in  his  heart. 
He  allows  himself  in  nothing  secretly  which  he  knows 
to  be  contrary  to  the  gospel.     He  really  loves  religion, 
and  from  his  inmost  soul  endeavours  to  obey  and  ob- 
serve its  dictates.    Does  he  come  forward  as  a  friend 
to  his  country  ?  His  country's  interest  is  what  he  truly 
and  earnestly  seeks ;    and  no  tide  of  popular  opinion 
will  warp  him  from  it.     He  will  sacrifice  character  and 
influence,  when  he  might  retain  them,  rather  than  dis- 
semble in  what  he  thinks  would  be  for  the  public  good. 
Does  he  profess  benevolence  ?  He  feels  what  he  profes- 
ses.  He  treats  all  men  with  kindness,  because  the  law  of 
kindness  is  in  his  heart.     Has  he  assured  you  of  his 
friendship  ?  You  will  never  find  him  other  than  a  friend : 
and  the  most  so,  when  you  need  his  friendship  most. 
Does  he  seem  to  make  you  fair  offers  in  merchandize  or 
trade?  He  is  what  he  seems.     There  is  no  trap,   or 
catch,  laid  to  ensnare  and  injure  you.     If  you  under- 
stand your  own  interest,  it  will  never  be  disadvantaged 
by  the  treachery  of  his  offers.     He  is  a  plain  meaning 
and  a  plain  dealing  man.     In  a  word,  in  whatever  way 


DISCOURSE  VI.  137 

you  take  him,  the  man  of  simplicity  and  sincerity  lets 
you  see  the  ends  at  which  he  really  aims,  as  far  as  it  is 
proper  to  disclose  them ;  and,  without  exception,  he 
is  careful  not  to  beguile  the  innocent.  If  he  has  pro- 
fessed his  views  you  always  know  where  to  find  him. 

Secondly^  These  characters  differ  as  much  in  regard 
to  the  means  they  use  as  to  the  ends  they  pursue.  Nay, 
it  is  here  that  the  characteristic  opposition  is,  perhaps, 
most  frequently  seen.  Fleshly  wisdom,  if  it  can  persuade 
its  possessor  that  the  end  is  lawful,  or  laudable,  will  teach 
him  to  seek  it  by  all  the  means  in  his  power.  That 
the  end  justifies,  or  sanctifies  the  means,  is  its  favour- 
ite, if  not  its  avowed  maxim  ;  and  it  considers  as  an  al- 
lowable, and  even  a  commendable  policy,  every  artifice 
or  finess,  by  which  a  favourite  purpose  may  be  accom- 
plished. It  even  treats  contemptuously,  those  scruples, 
which  make  men  hesitate  and  refuse  to  adopt  unfair  or 
deceptive  measures.  It  attributes  such  scruples  to  weak- 
ness of  mind,  to  squeamishness  of  conscience,  to  igno- 
rance of  human  nature,  to  the  w\ant  of  understanding 
the  management  of  affairs,  to  the  want  of  comprehen- 
sive views ;  and  I  know  not  to  how  many  other 
wants  which  men  of  fleshly  wisdom  are  always  ready  to 
impute  to  the  man  of  christian  sincerity.  For  such  a 
man,  believe  it,  must,  and  will  forever,  abhor  and  avoid 
all  such  disingenuity.  He  will  esteem  it  a  system  of 
detestable  craft  and  deceit,  whatever  specious  names,  op 
fair  representations,  its  admirers  may  give  it.  His  lan- 
guage will  be — ••  0  my  soul,  come  not  thou  into  their 


138  DISCOURSE  VI. 

secret ;  unto  their  assembly  mine  honour  be  not  thou 
united.'^  The  man  of  sincerity  will  never  admit  that 
the  most  desirable  and  important  end  is  to  be  sought  by 
unlawful  means.  He  will  abhor  the  policy  of  doing 
evil  that  good  may  come ;  or  of  professing  to  aim  at  a 
point  which  is  exactly  opposite  to  that  which  it  is  his 
intention  if  possible  to  reach.  He  will  do  the  thing 
that  is  rights  and  leave  the  event  to  God.  And  here, 
let  me  remark^  is  another  advantage  of  those  who  found 
their  integrity  on  the  principles  of  true  religion.  They 
have  a  governing  conviction  that  there  is  an  Almighty 
power,  which  controls  and  directs  the  affairs  of  men. 
They  know  that  God  orders  or  over-rules  all  events,  and 
that  the  hearts  of  all  men  are  in  his  hand,  and  that  he 
can  "turn  them  as  the  rivers  of  water  are  turned.'' 
To  Him  they  look  to  give  success  to  a  good  cause,  when 
they  have  done  their  duty  in  endeavouring  to  promote 
it.  And  they  are  confident  that  He  both  can  and  will 
give  it  the  issue  that  is  best.  They  remember  that  the 
issue  belongs  to  him,  and  therefore  to  make  use  of  for- 
bidden or  disingenuous  means  to  bring  about  what  they 
esteem  desirable,  would  be  at  once  to  violate  the  laws 
of  God,  and  to  invade  his  prerogative.  In  many  instan- 
ces they  are  sensible  that  it  is  not  for  them  to  deter- 
mine what  event  is  actually  the  most  desirable  upon  the 
whole,  nor  what  means  will  most  certainly  promote  it. 
Their  concern,  therefore,  is  to  abide  by  the  plain  rules 
of  duty,  leaving  all  consequences  to  Him  to  whom  it 
belongs  to  order  them  according  to  his  sovereign  will. 


DISCOURSE  VI.  139 

In  a  word,  with  a  man  of  godly  sincerity,  there  is  no 
price  that  you  can  set  upon  his  duty.     Propose  to  him 
any  object,  however  vahiable  or  desirable  in  itself,  if 
the  means  by  which  it  must  be  acquired  are  not  lawful, 
or  even  if  they  are  very  questionable,  you  will  solicit 
him  in  vain.     His  language  will  be  that  of  Job — "  All 
the  while  my  breath  is  in  me,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
in  my  nostrils  ;  my  lips  shall  not  speak  wickedness  nor 
my  tongue  utter  deceit.     God  forbid  that  I  should  jus- 
tify you.    Till  I  die  I  w^ll  not  remove  my  integrity 
from  me.     My  righteousness  I  hold  fast  and  will  not  let 
it  go.    My  heart  shall  never  reproach  me  as  long  as  I 
live — For  what  is  the  hope  of  the  hypocrite,  though  he 
hath  gained,  when  God  taketh  away  his  soul  ?" 

Thirdly,    The  contrast  of  which  I  am  speaking,  is  ap- 
parent, not  merely  on  some  particular  occasions,  but  it  is 
manifest  in  the  general  character  of  the  parties  who  ex- 
hibit it.     Fleshly  wisdom  itself,  taken  in  the  worst  sense 
in  which  the  phrase  can  be  used,  may  lead  a  man  to  act 
as  if  he  were  honest  and  upright,  when  his  worldly  in- 
terest draws  in  that  direction  :  and  it  is  a  wise  order 
of  providence,   no   doubt,  that  not   only   his  ultimate 
good,   but  his  immediate  benefit,  should  so  frequently 
urge  a  man  to  his  duty.     But  the  real  integrity  of  the 
heart  is  seen  in  the  hour  of  trial,  and  in  the  general 
habits   of  life.     It   is  habit,   especially,  that  marks  a 
man's  true  character.     In  particular  acts,   a  good  man, 
through    the  force  or   suddenness   of  temptation,    may 
dreadfully  transgress ;  and  a  bad  man,  as  we  have  just 


140  DISCOURSE  VI. 

remarked^  may,  from  a  regard  to  his  interest,  appear 
to  be  honest.      But  it   is    "  our   conversation  in   the 
world/^  as  the  Apostle  calls  it ;  our  conduct  taken  in  a 
complex  view;    our  behaviour  in  the  various  circum- 
stances in  which  we  are  placed,  in  all  the  business  we 
are  called  to  perform,  in  all  the  characters  and  relations 
that  we  sustain ; — this  it  is  that  must  give  us  the  char- 
acter of  simplicity  and  sincerity,  or  the  reverse.     Here 
the   contrast  I  would  exhibit  is  clearly  and  strikingly 
seen.     Here,  on  the  one  hand,  you  see  a  man  who  has 
^"  a  darkness  of  character  in  which  you  can  see  no  heart." 
He  is  artful,  sly,  deceitful,  slippery,  cunning,  insidious, 
full  of  intrigue,  full  of  secret  schemes  and  designs,  now 
this  thing  and  then  another,  but  always  prepared  with 
a   plausible  pretext  for   the  change ;  you  never  know 
what  dependance  to  place  on  his  professions,  or  whether 
what  he  appears  to  be  aiming  at,  be  the  real  object  of  his 
pursuit,  or  not.     Here  on  the  other  hand  is   "  an  Isra- 
elite indeed  in  whom  there  is  no  guile.'^     He  is  a  plain, 
undisguised,  frank,  fair,  upright,  thoroughly  honest  man, 
always  the  same,  always  candid  and  ingenuous,  you  rely 
upon  him  in  every  thing,  and  you  feel  as  safe  in  trust- 
ing him  as  in  trusting  yourself.      Even  in  times  of  the 
severest  trial,  or  the  greatest  danger,  his  integrity  is  as 
inflexible  as  ever.     He  is  then  supported,  and  fortified, 
and  comforted  with  the  assured  hope  of  a  better  state 
beyond  the  present :  for  the  supposition  is  that  he  has 
such  a  hope  to  sustain  and  animate  him.     And  indeed, 
»t  such  times,  what  could  he  do  without  it  ?  ^  Yes,  and 


DISCOURSE  \l.  141 

let  me  ask,  in  closing  the  contrast,  what  will  the  infi- 
del do  without  it  ?  How  will  he  maintain  his  integrity 
when  all  prospect  of  worldly  advantage  from  it  is  taken 
away  ?  Consider  him  pressed  hy  all  the  distresses  of  the 
present  life,  supported  by  no  definite  and  cheering  ex- 
pectation in  regard  to  futurity,  having  it  entirely  in  his 
power  to  relieve  himself  by  unlawful  aid,  perhaps  in- 
vited and  pressed  to  accept  of  that  aid — will  he,  in 
such  circumstances,  be  found  inflexible  ?  Ah  !  it  is  haz- 
ardous to  trust  him  then.  It  is  then  that  the  unspeak- 
able  advantages  of  religious  integrity  are  seen  and  felt. 
— Thus  have  I  endeavoured  to  illustrate  the  character 
of  him  who  has  his  ''  conversation  in  the  world  in  sim- 
plicity and  godly  sincerity,  not  with  fleshly  wisdom,  but 
by  the  grace  of  God." 

But,  it  is  probable,  that  some  of  you  may  be  ready  to 
ask — Will  not  the  character  we  have  heard  described 
and  recommended,  render  its  possessor  the  dupe  and 
victim  of  those  very  men  with  whom  he  has  been  con- 
trasted ?  Ought  we  not  to  make  use  of  prudence  on  all 
occasions,  and  may  we  not  employ  skill  and  management 
on  many  ?  Is  it  not  necessary  frequently  to  conceal  our  in- 
tentions ;  and  sometimes  to  accommodate  ourselves  to  the 
time,  the  place,  the  company,  and  many  other  circum- 
stances, in  which  we  may  be  called  to  act  ? 

In  answer  to  these  questions,  let  me  distinctly  ob- 
serve, that  the  character  I  have  drawn  will  be  great- 
ly misapprehended,  if  it  be  considered  as  hostile  to 
the  most  wary,   prudent,  and  guarded  conduct  or  be- 


142  DISCOURSE  VI. 


haviour ;  and  therefore  that  it  will  not  expose  its  pos- 
sessor, peculiarly,  to  imposition  and  deception  from 
%  crafty  and  designing  men.  It  is  by  no  means  to  be  sup- 
posed that  a  character  for  simplicity  and  sincerity  implies 
either  weakness  of  intellect,  or  ignorance  of  the  world. 
This,  as  I  have  remarked,  is  the  favourite  representation 
of  rogues  and  knaves ;  but  it  is  just  as  false  as  the  most  of 
their  other  statements.  Christian  integrity  admits, 
fairly,  of  the  following  things — 

1.  Oi forbearance  ;  that  is,  we  may  forbear  to  deliver 
our  sentiments,  or  to  avow  our  designs,  when  others 
have  clearly  no  right  or  claim  to  know  them ;  and  we 
ought  to  do  so,  when  it  is  probable  that  by  declaring 
them  we  should  injure  ourselves  and  do  no  good  to  oth- 
ers. It  is  upon  this  principle  that  our  Saviour  has 
grounded  the  injunction — "  Give  not  that  which  is  holy 
unto  the  dogs ;  neither  cast  ye  your  pearls  before 
swine,  lest  they  trample  them  under  their  feet,  and  turn 
again  and  rend  you.''  Upon  the  same  principle  we 
may  in  any  case  forbear  to  act,  when  action  will  plainly 
be  without  effect,  and  especially  w  hen  it  will  probably 
increase  rather  than  prevent  or  mitigate  an  evil. 

2.  Compi'omise^  in  a  qualified  sense,  is  consistent  with 
christian  integrity.  In  forming  and  prosecuting  plans 
of  benevolence  or  utility,  in  concert  with  others,  mutual 
concession  is  not  only  lawful  but  commendable.  With- 
out it,  indeed,  such  plans  can  never  be  extensively  form- 
ed and  executed.  If  each  individual  will  insist  on  hav- 
ing every  thing  exactly  as  he  wishes  it^  and  will  plead 


DISCOURSE  VI.  143 

ionscience  as  a  bar  to  uniting  with  others,  there  can  be 
no  union,  no  co-operation,  and  no  great  good  effected. 
Having  stated  fairly  our  own  views  and  wishes,  if  we 
judge  that  integrity  requires  such  a  statement,  we  may 
lawfully  lend  our  aid  to  any  design  or  enterprise  which 
we  think  beneficial  or  commendable  on  the  whole — 
Among  things  which  are  clearly  morally  evil,  we  are, 
certainly,  to  make  no  choice  ;  but  among  natural  evils, 
or  mere  inconveniences,  it  may  frequently  be  the  part 
of  duty,  or  of  prudence,  to  choose  the  least ;  and  when 
we  cannot  effect  much  good,  we  ought  always  to  be 
ready  to  co-operate  cordially  in  effecting  a  little. 

3.  Skill  and  address  in  the  use  of  lawful  means  are 
perfectly  consistent  with  christian  sincerity.  It  requires 
us  neither  to  be  blunt,  nor  rude.  Decorum  and  true 
politeness  never  interfere  with  it,  but  may  be  made  its 
powerful  auxiliaries.  It  permits  us  to  consult  time, 
place  and  character.  It  even  requires  us  to  accommo- 
date ourselves  to  the  infirmities  and  weaknesses  of  man- 
kind. That  all  this  is  allowable,  or  rather  that  it  ought 
to  be  regarded  as  highly  important,  is  manifest  from 
what  the  author  of  our  text  tells  us  of  himself.  We 
learn  from  his  own  writings,  as  well  as  from  what  is 
related  of  his  conduct  and  character  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  that  he  was  a  man  of  the  most  consummate 
address ;  that  he  paid  all  due  deference  to  rank  and 
station ;  that  he  always  consulted  the  characters  of 
those  to  whom  he  spake;  that  he  condescended,  and 
even  conformed  to  many  prejudices ;  that  he  forbore  to 


144  DISCOURSE  VL 

do  many  things  that  were  lawful  because  they  were  not 
expedient ;  that^  in  a  word,  "  he  was  made  all  things 
to  all  men,  that  he  might  by  all  means  save  some.'^  Thus 
acted  the  apostle  Paul ;  and  yet,  under  the  guidance  and 
sanction  of  the  Spirit  of  infallible  truth,  he  penned  the  sol- 
emn declaration  which  forms  our  text.  His  whole  history 
and  character  serve  to  illustrate  our  subject,  and  to  prove 
incontestibly  that  "  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity'^  may 
be  united  with  talents  and  accomplishments  of  the  high- 
est order  and  of  the  most  various  kinds ;  that  they  con- 
sist with  a  deep  knowledge  of  mankind  and  with  the 
greatest  skill  in  the  management  of  every  concern; 
that  they  are  frequently  an  overmatch  for  all  the  sub- 
tility  and  malignity  which  can  be  arrayed  against  tliem  ; 
and  that  they  are  not  only  defensive  but  highly  orna- 
mental to  their  possessor. 

Let  us  now  consider 

II.  That  whoever  has  the  testimony  of  his  conscience, 
that  he  has  had  his  conversation  in  the  world  in  that 
simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  which  has  been  described, 
will  have  a  source  of  internal  peace  and  satisfaction 
which  nothing  can  destroy. 

That  the  experience  of  the  Apostle  went  fully  to  the 
support  of  this  position  we  have  his  own  explicit  decla- 
ration, not  only  in  the  text,  but  in  numerous  other  passa- 
ges of  his  writings.  Nor  was  his  experience,  let  it  be  ob- 
served, that  of  a  man  whose  life  was  destitute  of  those 
trials  which  should  give  it  weiglit.  On  the  contrary, 
there  never,  perhaps,   existed  a  man,  who  had  more 


DISCOURSE   VI.  145 

opportunities  to  know  from  experience,  whether  godly 
sincerity  was  a  never  failing  source  of  peace  and  satis- 
faction.    Educated  with  the  fairest  prospects  of  honour 
and  distinction  among  his  countrymen  tlie  Jews,  lie  had 
•   for  the  sake  of  Christ,  become  an  outcast  from  his  na- 
tion, and  was  persecuted  with  the  most  deadly  hatred. 
As  to  this   world,  "  he    had   suffered    the    loss    of  dl 
things/'     The  attainment  of  distinction  and  opulence, 
which  his  birth,  talents  and  education,   seem  to    have 
put  in  his  power,  he  had  resigned  for  contempt  and  pov- 
erty,  and  a  life  of  incessant  toil,  anxiety  and  jeopardy. 
Hear  his  own  account  of  this  matter — and  recollect  too 
that  it  stands  in  the  same  address  which  contains  the 
text.     Speaking  of  those  who  insidiously  endeavoured 
to  misrepresent  him  with  the  churches,  and  which,  in 
itself,  was  no  inconsiderable  trial,  he  says,  "  Are  they  He- 
brews ?  so  am  I.  Are  they  Israelites  ?  so  am  I.  Are  they 
the  seed  of  Abraham  ?  so.  am  I.    Are  they  ministers  of 
Christ  ?  (I  speak  as  a  fool,)  I  am  more  ;  in  labours  more 
abundant,  in  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons  more  fre- 
quent, in  deaths  oft.  Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  for- 
ty stripes  save  one.    Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once 
was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day 
I  have  been  in  the  deep  ;  in  journey ings  often,  in  perils  of 
waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine  own  coun- 
trymen, in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city, 
in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils 
among  fiilse  brethren  ;  in  weariness  and  painfulness,  in 

watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  tliirst^  in  fastings  often, 

U 


14d  iDlSCOURSE  VI. 

in  cold  and  nakedness.  Besides  those  things  that  are 
without,  that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of 
all  the  churches."  Such  were  the  unparalleled  suffer- 
ings and  trials  in  which  was  passed,  not  a  short  period, 
but  the  whole  life  of  the  apostle,  after  his  conversion— 
the  whole  life  of  a  man,  who,  as  "  a  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews,  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,"  once  had 
the  most  flattering  prospects  which  the  united  influence 
of  birth  and  erudition  could  give,  of  possessing  power 
and  honour  and  affluence,  as  great  as  his  nation  could 
bestow.  This  was  the  man  who  declared  that  the  tes- 
timony of  a  good  conscience  that  he  acted  with  simpli- 
city and  godly  sincerity  in  all  his  intercourse  with  the 
world,  had  not  only  supported  him  under  all  his 
changes,  and  sacrifices,  and  perils,  and  pains,  and  deg- 
radations, but  had  enabled  him  to  rejoice  and  glory 
amidst  them  all.  Such  an  example,  surely,  affords  a 
powerful  support  to  the  doctrine  I  inculcate.  But  the 
truth  is  general.  Every  man  who  acts  as  the  apostle 
acted,  will  also  be  enabled  to  rejoice  as  he  rejoiced. 
Lend  me  your  serious  attention,  while  I  briefly  explain 
how  this  happy  result  will  always  be  produced. 

1.  The  testimony  of  a  good  conscience  will  not  only 
preserve  its  possessor,  in  the  most  trying  scenes  of  ad- 
versity in  which  he  can  be  placed,  from  all  self  accusa- 
tion or  reproach,  but  will  affoi  d  him  the  sweet  solace, 
and  the  powerful  support  of  self  approbation.  The 
faculty  of  our  minds  by  which  we  both  censure  and 
approve   our  own  motives  and  conduct  is  conscience. 


DISCOURSE  VL  147 

But  our  supposition  is  that  the  party  we  consider  ha« 
the  testimony  of  his  conscience  full  in  his  favour.  It  is 
impossible,  therefore,  that  he  should  accuse  or  reproach 
himself,  since  the  faculty  from  which  alone  accusation 
or  reproach  could  come  is  employed,  so  to  speak,  in  an. 
opposite  direction — in  acquitting  and  approving  him. 
This  the  apostle  assures  us  was  the  cause  of  his  rejoic- 
ing ;  and  we  see,  from  the  very  constitution  of  our  na^ 
ture,  that  the  same  effect  must  take  place  in  every 
one  who  possesses  the  good  conscience  which  he  pos- 
sessed. 

Now,  let  a  man  be  free  from  all  self  reproach ;  let 
him  have  the  entire  approbation  of  his  own  mind ;  let 
him,  on  the  closest  examination  of  himself  and  the  most 
careful  review  of  his  conduct,  see  reason  to  rejoice,  and 
actually  rejoice,  in  the  course  he  has  pursued,  the  part 
he  has  acted  and  the  motives  by  which  he  has  been  gov- 
erned, and  he  is  completely  out  of  the  reach  of  deep 
or  lasting  misery.  Subject  him  to  privations,  burden  him 
with  cares,  load  him  with  contempt,  expose  him  to  dan* 
gers,  inflict  upon  him  bodily  torments — he  will  feel  them, 
he  must  feel  them,  but  still  he  will  rejoice.  The  surface  of 
his  sensibilities  only  will  be  touched.  His  inward  man, 
the  sensorium  of  his  soul,  will  remain  sound  and  whole, 
and  full  of  delightful  sensations.  Or  if,  for  a  moment,  he 
be  shaken  or  agitated  here,  he  will  recover  speedily, 
will  rejoice  with  renewed  joy,  and  meet  the  storm  with 
increased  strength  and  augmented  firmness.  It  is  the 
soul  of  mail  that  feels;  and  the  soul  of  tliis  maa  will  aud 


148  DISCOURSE  VI. 

diust  have  feelings  which  exchide  misery  and  make  it 
joyful. 

It  is  in  the  season  of  severe  trial,  that  the  support 
which  is  derived  from  a  good  conscience  is,  at  once,  most 
needed  and  most   sensibly   experienced.      While   men 
are  prosperous  in  the  w^orld  they  often  find  it  practica- 
ble to  lull  their  consciences,  or  to  escape  from  them,  or, 
by  the  aid  of  false  principles,  to  accommodate  them  to 
their  wishes  or  their  passions.     But  in  a  time  of  deep 
affliction,  when  all  outward  circumstances  are  adverse, 
when  the  mind  is  cut  off  from  all  that  is  pleasing  in  the 
world,  from   all   external  and  adventitious  aids  and  ob- 
jects, and  is  driven  inward  on  itself,  then  it  is  not  easy 
to  escape  from  conscience,  nor  easy  to  maintain  inward 
quiet   w^ith  a  misguided  conscience.      Then  has   come 
the   hour   for  reflection,  and    recollection,   and   exam- 
ination and  inquiry,   and  wo  to  him  whose  peace  and 
contentment  have  rested  on  the  sandy  foundation   of 
carelessness,  or  forgetfulness,  or  falsehood,  or  mistake, 
or  ignorance,  or  sophistry !     He  is  now  likely  to  dis- 
cover that  his  refuge  has  been  "  a  refuge  of  lies,''  that 
he  has  nothing  stable  to  support  or  shelter  him,  nothing 
that   can   resist   the   storms   and   billows   of  adversity 
which  threaten  to  sweep  him — and  happy  is  he  if  they 
do  not  now  actually  sweep  him — into  tlie  abyss  of  des- 
pair and  perdition. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  test  to  which  adversity  brings 
him  who  has  the  testimony  of  his  conscience  that  he  has 


DISCOURSE  VI.  149 

had  his  conversation  in  the  world  in  simplicity  and  godly 
sincerity^  only  serves  to  satisfy  him  the  more  fully  of 
the  rectitude  of  his  motives  and  actions,  and  to  prove  to 
him  more  unquestionahly  that  he  has  an  unftiiliug  source 
of  consolation.  Examination  and  scrutiny  are  always 
favourable  to  truth.  They  ascertain  it  more  clearly, 
and  ^x  our  confidence  in  it  more  firmly.  Hence  the 
man  of  godly  sincerity,  when  he  examines  himself  close- 
ly in  the  season  of  advei^sity,  becomes  more  satisfied 
than  ever  that  he  has  acted  right ;  and  the  testimony 
of  his  conscience  in  his  favour  becomes  of  course  more 
decisive,  and  powerful,  and  consoling,  and  enables  him 
to  say  with  emphasis,  ''  I  rejoice  even  in  tribulation ; 
yea,  and  I  will  rejoice."     For 

2.  What  we  believe,  on  the  closest  and  fullest  exami- 
nation, to  be  right,  we  must  conclude  to  be  the  object  of 
approbation  with  the  Deity,  who  is  perfect  rectitude. 
But  on  such  examination,  as  we  have  just  seen,  the  man  of 
godly  sincerity  conscientiously  believes  that  he  has  acted 
right.  His  course  of  action,  therefore,  he  must  con- 
clude— he  cannot  doubt — is  the  object  of  approbation 
with  his  God.  Yes,  he  is  satisfied,  he  knows  that  God 
regards  his  uprightness  with  complacency.  And  can  a 
mind  fully  persuaded  of  this  be  miserable  ?  Can  any 
thing  destroy  the  pleasure  and  satisfaction  arising  from 
such  a  persuasion  ?  No,  brethren — Earth  and  hell  may 
attempt  in  vain  to  render  that  man  unhappy,  who  is 
justly  and  firmly  persuaded  that  God  is  his  friend. 
The  approbation;  the  friendship,  the  favour,  the  love, 


150  DISCOCnSE  VL 

of  the  Supreme  Being,  when  we  are  thoroughly  satis* 
fied  they  are  ours,  appear  as  much  superior  to  any 
thi%  that  creatures  can  give  or  take,  as  his  nature  and 
attrmutes  are  superior  to  theirs.  Possessing  these,  the 
mincfcan  look  down  with  a  holy  indifference  or  disre- 
gard,! on  all  the  things  of  time;  on  all  adversity,  in 
whatfier  form  it  may  come  ;  while  looking  up  to  God 
it  excmims — "  Thy  favour  is  life,  and  thy  loving  kind- 
ness is*»  better  than  life — My  flesh  and  my  heart  fail- 
eth,  bu4^  God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart  and  my  por- 
tion forever/''     This  leads  me  to  remark 

3.  That  tlie  man  of  godly  sincerity  is  comforted  and 
made  to  rejoice  at  all  times,  and  especially  in  the  time 
of  affliction,  by  the  assured  hope  and  expectation  of  fu- 
ture and  endless  happiness.  Both  the  considerations 
already  suggested  are  always  and  inseparably  connect- 
ed V.  ith  this,  and  derive  from  it  their  principal  force 
and  efiicacy.  That  virtue,  indeed,  should  ever  suffer 
under  the  government  of  an  infinitely  wise,  powerful 
and  good  Being,  is  what  we  shall  not  find  it  easy  to 
account  for,  on  any  other  supposition  than  that  there  is 
a  state  of  future  and  perfect  retribution.  But  we  are 
not  left,  on  this  subject,  to  the  mere  deductions  of  reason. 
"  Christ  hath  abolished  death,  and  hath  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel.'^  We  know 
from  the  oracles  of  infallible  truth  that  "  God  hath  ap- 
pointed a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness,  by  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained — 
that  he  will  bring  every  work  iuto  judgment  with  every 


Discourse  vl  151 

secret  tiling,  whether  it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil— 
that  he  will  judge  the  secrets  of  men — that  we  must  all 
appear  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ,  that  every 
one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body,  according 
to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad  ;  and 
that  the  wicked  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment, but  the  righteous  into  life  eternal."  Here  is  the 
description  of  tho^e  awful  realities  of  a  future  state, 
those  deeply  interesting  scenes  and  events,  to  which  tho 
man  of  godly  sincerity  is  looking  forward,  through  the 
whole  of  his  christian  course.  His  mind's  eye  is  often 
fixed  on  "  the  judgment  of  the  great  day.''  How  shall  I 
answer  then  ?  is  the  solemn  question  which  he  frequent- 
ly puts  to  himself.  To  answer  then  "  with  joy  and  not 
with  grief,"  is  his  great  concern.  This  influences  him 
to  maintain  "  a  conscience  void  of  offence,  toward  God 
and  toward  man."  This  determines  him  to  preserve 
his  integrity?  though  it  should  cost  him  his  life;  and  to 
approve  himself  to  the  heart  searching  God,  who  is  so 
soon  to  judge  the  secrets  of  his  heart.  And  now  we 
contemplate  him  as  having  the  testimony  of  his  con- 
science that  he  has,  truly  and  prevalently,  acted  under 
the  influence  of  these  considerations.  Amidst  all  the  sin 
and  imperfection  of  w  hich  he  is  conscious,  for  which  he 
is  deeply  humbled,  and  which  bring  him  to  a  simple 
reliance  on  the  merits  of  his  Redeemer,  both  for  acquit- 
tal and  reward,  he  still  perceives  that  he  has  acted  with 
sincerity :  tliat  he  has  habitually  endeavoured  to  obey 
all  the  divine  commandments  ;  that  he  has  not  wilfully 


152  DISCOURSE  VI. 

or  allowedly  swerved  from  his  duty  ;  that  he  has  fol- 
lowed its  dictates^  in  opposition  to  the  frowns  and  the 
flatteries  of  the  world  ;  that  he  has  been  ready  to  en- 
counter^ and  is  at  this  very  moment  willing  to  bear 
reproach^  and  persecution,  and  loss,  and  peril,  and 
poverty,  and  death  itself,  rather  than  desert  his  duty, 
or  dishonour  his  Saviour,  or  refuse  him  any  service 
that  he  may  require — He  perceives  this ;  he  is  inti- 
mately and  deeply  conscious  of  it.  He  is  therefore 
permitted — and  oh  how  does  he  admire  the  ineffable 
grace  and  condescension  by  which  he  is  permitted — 
to  consider  himself  as  a  real  disciple  of  Christ,  as  vital- 
ly united  to  him,  as  sure  of  his  approbation  '^  when  he 
shall  come  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints  and  to  be  admir- 
ed in  all  them  that  believe.'^  He  anticipates  the  day 
of  dread  decision,  when  his  Saviour  will  acknowledge 
and  honour  him  before  the  assembled  universe,  will 
turn  all  his  infamy  into  honour  and  all  his  sorrows  into 
joy,  will  place  a  crown  of  eternal  glory  on  his  head,  and 
will  say  to  him  with  all  his  chosen  people,  "  Come  ye 
blessed  of  my  Father,  enter  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord — 
inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world. '^ 

And  now  say,  my  brethren,  if  the  man  who,  with 
humble  confidence,  anticipates  a  participation  in  these 
glories  of  the  final  judgment,  and  the  succeeding  felici- 
ties of  an  eternal  duration,  may  not,  and  will  not,  even 
exult  and  triumph  amidst  any  sufi*erings — no  matter  of 
what  kind   or   from   wiiat   quarter  they   may  come — 


DISCOURSE  VI.  15:^ 

which  the  world  can  inflict.  Yes,  he  may — He  may, 
even  in  the  view  of  certain  martyrdom,  say,  as  the  au- 
thor of  our  text  actually  said — "  I  am  now  ready  to  be 
oifered  ;  and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I 
have  kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for 
me  a  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous judge  shall  give  unto  me  in  that  day ;  and  not 
mito  me  only  but  unto  all  them  also  which  love  his 
appearing.'' 

My  young  friends — whose   connexion  with  this 
institution  is  about  to  be  dissolved 

It  was  my  design  in  selecting  the  topic  you  have  just 
heard  discussed,  to  lay  hold  on  the  present  interesting 
occasion,  to  recommend,  in  the  most  powerful  manner 
of  which  I  am  capable,  the  character  you  have  heard 
described,  to  your  attention  and  imitation.  And  if  I 
shall  be  so  happy  as  elTectually  to  succeed  in  this,  I 
shall  be  instrumental  in  confering  on  you  a  benefit  of 
the  most  essential  kind  ;  a  benefit  which  will  be  as  last- 
ing as  your  existence.  For  if  you  possess  that  simpli- 
city and  godly  sincerity  of  which  the  text  speaks,  and 
which  you  have  heard  discriminated  from  fleshly  wis- 
dom of  every  kind,  you  will  possess  true  religion  ;  and 
you  will  possess  it,  too,  in  its  best,  most  lovely,  and 
most  useful  form.     This — observe  it  distinctly — is  what 

I  recommend.     Never  have  I  attempted — and  God  for- 

X 


154  DISCOURSE  VI. 

bid  that  I  ever  should  attempt — to  make  you,  or  others, 
believe,  that  a  system  of  mere  worldly  prudence,  and 
an  amiable  exterior,  will  secure  the  salvation  of  the^ 
soul.  It  certainly  will  not.  God  has  to  do  with  the 
heart ;  and  your  religion  must  begin  by  a  change  there, 
and  be  influenced  by  evangelical  views  and  motives 
throughout,  if  it  ever  lead  you  to  heaven.  At  the 
same  time,  these  evangelical  views  and  motives,  as  has 
been  shewn  in  this  discourse,  will  form  the  deepest, 
broadest  and  most  solid  basis,  on  which  to  rear  the 
fabrick  of  integrity  and  honesty  before  the  world. 
Build,  therefore,  on  this  foundation.  Never  be  con- 
tent, or  think  yourselves  safe  without  it. 

Bul  having  said  this,  I  think  it  not  improper,  and 
hope  it  may  be  useful  to  add,  that  I  know  of  nothing 
which  affords  so  fair  a  hope  that  a  man  will  eventually 
become  truly  pious,  as  that  inflexible  attachment  to 
what  he  believes  to  be  truth  and  duty,  which  may  go 
into  the  character  of  a  man  of  integrity,  while  yet  he  is 
not  a  man  of  practical  piety  ;  provided  only  that  he 
avoids  the  danger  of  making  a  religion  or  righteousness 
of  this  character.  If  he  have  it,  as  he  may  have  it, 
without  building  his  hopes  of  heaven  upon  it,  there  is 
much  reason  to  expect  that  the  love  of  truth  and  ten- 
derness of  conscience,  with  which  it  is  usupJly  associated, 
will  lead  to  true  piety  at  last.  The  apostle  who  pen* 
ned  the  text  did  make  a  righteousness  of  such  a  char- 
acter, in  his  unconverted  state.  And  though  he  was 
eonverted  by  miracle,   yet   he  tells   us   himself,  what 


DISCOURSE  VI.  155 

amounts  to  saying,  that  this  miracle  would  not  have  been 
wrought  if  lie  had  not  possessed  this  character — if  he 
had  not  "  sinned  ignorantly  in  unbelief."  If  he  had 
not  ''  verily  thought  that  he  ought  to  do  many  things 
contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth'^ — if  he  had 
offended  in  the  manner  he  did,  against  the  convictions 
of  his  own  mind,  he  would  never  have  found  mercy. 
But  he  always  acted  as  he  verily  thought  he  ought  to 
iict ;  and  therefore,  though  he  acted  very  wickedly — 
and  his  case  proves  incontestibly  that  a  man  may  act 
very  wickedly  when  he  fully  believes  he  is  doing  right — 
yet  his  sins  were  forgiven  ;  and  he  became,  probably, 
the  most  useful  mere  man  that  ever  lived.  His  case  is 
exactly  to  my  present  purpose.  If,  then,  you  would 
hope  to  be  truly  pious,  never  trifle  with  truth ;  never 
use  deceit ;  abhor  all  fraud ;  and  maintain  a  character 
for  uprightness  and  integrity :  And  yet,  I  repeat  it,  be- 
ware that  you  do  not  content  yourselves  with  this  ;  but 
seek  the  renovation  of  your  heart  and  nature,  and  a 
vital  union  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  making  him 
your  all  in  all. 

But  alas !  it  is  painful  to  say,  that  there  are  mea 
who  profess  religion,  and  who,  on  the  whole,  we  know 
not  how  entirely  to  exclude  from  our  charity,  that  are, 
nevertheless,  grievously  deficient  in  simplicity  and  god- 
ly sincerity.  Without  something  of  it,  indeed,  they 
cannot  be  christians,  in  any  thing  but  in  name.  But 
there  are  degrees  of  this,  as  well  as  of  every  other  ex- 


156  DISCOURSE  VI. 

cellence ;  and  it  is  a  most  lamentable  reflection  on  re- 
ligion, that  its  professors — yea,  and  its  very  ministers, 
are  sometimes  reproachfully  defective  in  simplicity  and 
sincerity  of  character.  There  is  scarcely  any  thing  which 
more  than  this,  can  injure  the  cause  of  Christ,  diminish 
their  own  influence  and  respect,  and  in  every  way  in- 
terfere with  their  usefulness.  Let  your  religious  char- 
acter, my  young  friends,  never  be  stained  by  this  blot. 
Be,  in  all  things,  what  you  profess  to  be.  And  such  of 
you  as  shall  be  called  to  preach  the  gospel,  I  now^  sol- 
emnly charge  to  preach  it  in  purity  and  simplicity. 
Deeply  abhor  either  to  conceal  the  truth,  or  to  deny, 
or  disguise,  or  keep  back,  any  important  sentiments 
that  you  really  hold.  And  in  addition  to  this,  always 
sustain  a  character — for  you  may  sustain  it  if  you 
choose — which  shall  free  you  from  every  just  or  cred- 
ible charge  of  duplicity,  insincerity,  or  want  of  can- 
dour. 

My  young  friends — do  not  think  that  I  press  tliis 
subject  upon  you  too  much.  It  is  not  done  from  any 
particular  distrust  of  your  integrity.  You  have  given 
m-e  no  cause  for  such  distrust.  But  you  do  not  know, 
and  all  I  can  say,  without  your  own  experience,  will 
not  make  you  sufliciently  sensible,  how  important  this 
subject  really  is.  Much,  you  will  recollect,  you  have 
heretofore  heard  me  say  upon  it ;  and  you  are  also 
aware  that  it  is  a  principle  in  the  government  of  this 
institution,  that  frankness,  truth  and  honesty,  shall  be 


DISCOURSE  VI.  157 

the  best  apology  for  every  fault.  But  this  is  the  last 
time  I  am  to  address  you ;  and  I  wish  to  send  you  into 
life  under  the  full  impression  of  the  truths  and  prin- 
ciples, which  I  have  now  particularly  explained  and 
inculcated.  I  therefore  leave  it  as  my  last  parting 
charge  to  you  all,  to  be  honest — thoroughly  honest  tnen  ; 
to  begin  life  with  this,  and  to  carry  it  with  you  through 
the  whole  of  life.  You  have  been  hearing  of  some  of 
the  advantages  of  doing  this;  but  the  half  has  not 
been  told  you. 

Integrity  will  stand  your  friend,  and  be  your  best 
recommendation,  in  a  thousand  ways  and  instances 
that  cannot  be  specified.  Sheer  integrity  is  esteemed 
as  the  most  precious  quality  in  those  who  are  to  be  em- 
ployed and  trusted  in  any  business,  station,  and  rela- 
tion of  life :  and  I  heartily  agree  with  a  late  popular 
writer,  that  ^»  considering  how  high  a  price  the  article 
bears,  it  is  wonderful  that  there  is  not  more  of  it  in 
the  market" — which,  indeed,  is  little  else  than  giving 
point  to  the  old  proverb,  that  honesty  is  the  best 
policy. 

It  is  a  recommendation,  too,  of  this  quality,  that  it 
does  not  require  talents  and  genius  to  possess  it ; 
though  talents  and  genius  are  nothing  but  curses  with- 
out it.  All  may  be  honest  and  upright :  and  whoever 
is  characteristically  so,  will  be  trusted  unboundedly,  will 
be  respected  sincerely,  and  will  be  employed  in  pre- 
ference  to   all   others.     I    have   shown   you   that   this 


138  DISCOURSE  VI. 

character,  I'ightly  understood  and  sustained,  will  nei- 
ther subject  you  to  the  charge  of  weakness,  nor  to  the 
impositions  of  knaves.  No  assuredly ;  but  while  it 
will  make  you  honoured  and  loved  by  all  honest  men, 
it  will  make  you  respected  and  feared  by  knaves  them- 
selves. Above  all,  genuine,  godly  sincerity  will,  if  you 
possess  it,  befriend  you,  when  you  most  need  to  be  be- 
friended. It  will,  as  you  have  heard,  solace  and  sup- 
port you  in  those  dark  hours  of  adversity  in  which  the 
world  will  no  longer  have  any  power  to  help  or  com- 
fort ;  or  when  it  shall  turn  against  you,  and  inflict  on 
you  all  its  wrath.  Then  will  godly  sincerity  raise  you 
above  all  its  rage,  and  fill  you  with  "  a  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding.''  Yea,  when  you  shall 
stand  on  the  brink  of  the  eternal  world,  it  will  still 
cheer  you ;  will  make  the  hour  of  death  a  desirable 
hour,  and  antedate  that  bliss  of  heaven  of  which  it  will 
ensure  the  full  possession. 

To  conclude  all — Endeavour  to  excel  in  every  thing 
that  is  praise  worthy  ; — in  science ;  in  manners  ;  in 
acquaintance  with  human  nature ;  in  a  knowledge 
of  the  world  and  the  characters  of  men.  Be  erudite,  be 
courteous,  be  conciliating,  be  prudent,  be  guarded  ; 
yet  always  be  honest  and  upright.  In  every  thing — 
in  religion,  in  politicks,  in  you  profession,  in  all  your 
intercourse  with  the  world,  give  yourselves  for  what 
you  are.  Never  wear  a  mask.  Show  yourselves  to 
be  trust  worthy,  by  actually  being  so — If  you  do  thisj, 


DISCOURSE  VI.  159 

I  repeat  it,  you  will  be  honoured,  you  will  be  happy. 
— I  have  done — I  commit  you  to  God — praying  that 
he  may  deeply  impress  on  your  minds  whatever  of 
salutary  counsel  you  have  now,  and  at  other  times, 
heard  from  these  lips  ;  and  grant  us  a  happy  meeting 
at  his  right  hand  above.     Amen. 


DISCOURSE  VII. 


A  PLEA  FOR  EARLY  PIETY. 

ECCLESIASTES  XII.  1. 

^*  Remember  now  thy  Creator ^  in  the  days  ofthyijouthP 

J.  HESE  are  the  words  of  inspiration,  recorded  by  the 
pen  of  the  wisest  of  men — by  the  pen  of  a  prince  who, 
in  circumstances  peculiarly  favourable  to  success,  had 
tried  to  derive  satisfaction  from  earthly  possessions  and 
pleasures ;  but  who,  having  found  and  pronounced  the 
trial  vain,  delivered  the  text  as  part  of  a  different  and  a 
better  method  of  seeking  after  happiness.  The  subject, 
therefore,  claims  our  attention,  on  the  highest  authority 
both  divine  and  human. 

The  true  and  obvious  design  of  the  text  is  to  recom- 
mend and  enjoin  early  piety.  This,  therefore,  will  be 
the  distinct  and  single  object  of  the  ensuing  discourse ; 
which  I  propose  to  address  immediately  and  exclusively 
— and  I  am  sure  it  will  be  affectionately  also — to  the 
youth  of  my  charge.  In  the  prosecution  of  this  design^ 
I  will  endeavour 

I.  To  explain  the  import  of  the  precept,  ^'  Remember 
thy  Creator.'' 


162  DISCOURSE  VII. 

II.  To  specify  and  urge  some  important  considera* 
tions  which  should  engage  those  who  are  "  now  in  the 
days  of  their  youth/'  to  yield  to  this  precept  an  immedi- 
ate and  cheerful  obedience. 

A  few  leading  thoughts  only,  will  be  offered  on  the 
first  of  these  divisions.  Our  time  must  be  chiefly  occu- 
pied with  the  second :  for  in  regard  to  this  subject,  as  to 
many  others,  instruction  is  less  needed  than  persuasion ; 
a  knowledge  of  duty  is  not  wanted  so  much  as  a  disposi- 
tion to  perform  it. 

I.  The  precept,  "  Remember  thy  Creator,''  must  be 
considered  as  enjoining  all  that  is  comprised  in  genuine 
practical  piety. 

As  forgetfulness  of  God  is  not  only  a  sin  in  itself,  but 
the  cause  of  many  other  sins,  so  a  due  remembrance  of 
Him  is  both  an  important  duty,  and  the  most  powerful 
incitement  to  every  other  duty.  The  precept  we  con- 
sider plainly  supposes,  what  experience  uniformly  attests, 
that  he  who  lives  habitually  under  an  impressive  recol- 
lection of  the  being  and  attributes  of  God — of  his  univer- 
1^1  presence,  his  infinite  majesty,  his  unspotted  purity, 
his  inflexible  justice,  his  inviolable  veracity,  his  bound- 
less goodness,  grace  and  mercy,  and  of  the  account 
which  must  shortly  be  rendered  to  Him  of  every  deed 
done  in  the  body — cannot  be  regardless  of  his  commands^ 
nor  inattentive  to  any  service  which  he  requires. 

Do  you  believe  it  would  be  possible  for  the  daring 
blasphemer,  the  profane  swearer,  the  careless  sabbath 
breaker;  the  child  whose  undutifuiness  breaks  a  parent's 


DISCOURSE  VIT.  -  16S 

heart,  the  murderer,  the  duellist,  the  drunkard,  the  adul- 
terer, the  thief,  the  prodigal,  the  perjured  person,  the 
griping  miser — to  rush   forward,   heedless  and  uncon- 
cerned,   in   perpetrating   their   several  enormities  and 
ahominations,  if  they  rememhered  God  ?  if  they  helieved 
and  recollected  distinctly,  that  **•  for  all  tlicse  things  God 
would  hring  them  into  judgment?"  What!  could  any 
one  in  the  possession  of  his  reason  habitually  do  that,  the 
penalty  of  which  he  knew  to  he  eternal  perdition !  No. 
it  would  he  impossible.     Fear,  although  it  would  not 
change    his  heart,    would   restrain    him    from   the  acts 
of  flagitious  vice.     Abandoned  sinners  are  always  prac- 
tical atheists.     This  is  the  character  given  of  them  ia 
holy  scripture.     There  we  are  told  that  they  "  forget 
God;"  that  ^^God  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts;"  that  ^^the 
fool  hath  said  in  his  heart  there  is  no  God" — Here  is  the 
exuberant  fountain  of  licentious  sinning. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  men  are  brought  seriously 
to  remember  their  Creatoi^ — to  have  some  operative  be- 
lief of  his  presence,  of  his  inspection,  and  of  their  ac- 
countableness  to  Him,  they  immediately  begin  to  think 
and  act  in  a  manner  which  usually  terminates  in  true  re- 
ligion. The  truth  is,  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Spirit  of 
grace,  is  the  blessed  agent,  who  both  commences  and  per- 
fects this  momentous  work.  He  it  is  who  first  brings  men 
to  consider  their  responsibility  to  their  Maker,  and  then 
prompts,  and  aids  and  directs  their  minds,  in  that  whole 
train  of  exercises,  the  issue  of  which  is  a  sound  conver- 
sion unto  God.    The  process;  indeed,  by  which  this  issue 


164  DISCOURSE  VIL 

is  effected^  is  extremely  various ;  but  the  result  is  always 
the  same.     Fear  of  the  divine  displeasure  is  frequently 
the  feeling  which  is  first  experienced,  as  it  is  that  which 
is 'naturally  produced,  when  the  unsanctified  mind  ob- 
tains some  just  and  impressive  perceptions  of  the  being 
and  attributes  of  God.     This  is  often  followed,  or  accom- 
panied, with  a  deep  sense  of  guilt,  misery  and  helpless- 
ness.    The  gospel  offer  of  free  salvation,  through  the 
atonement  and  righteousness  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
is  now  regarded  as  inestimably  precious ;  and  he  is,  at 
length,  received  and  rested  on  by  faith,  as  the  all  in  all  of 
the  soul.     With  this  fctith,  by  which  alone  the  sinner  is 
justified,  true  evangelical  repentance  for  sin  is  always 
mixed.     Sin,  in  its  very  nature,  appears  unspeakably 
odious,  and  it  is  mourned  for,  hated  and  renounced,  with^ 
out  any  exception  for  a  favourite  lust  or  indulgence. 
The  law  of  God  becomes  the  rule  of  life,  his  service  the 
business  of  life,  and  his  glory  the  great  end  of  living. 

An  inward  and  effectual  change,  evinced  by  the  exer- 
cises and  temper  now  specified,  will  ultimately  be  pro- 
ductive of  great  inward  peace,  arising  from  a  sense  of 
pardoned  guilt,  of  reconciliation  with  God  through  Jesus 
Christ,  and  from  his  love  shed  abroad  in  the  heart  by 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Outwardly,  this  change  will  be  mani- 
fested by  a  scrupulous  and  exemplary  discharge  of  eve- 
ry duty  which  is  due  both  to  God  and  man-^— a  discharge 
of  duty  proceeding  from  love  and  obedience  to  Him  whp 
has  enjoined  it,  and  from  a  desire  "  to  adorn  the  doc* 
tvine  of  God  our  Saviour  in  all  things.'^ 


DISCOUnSE  TIT.  165 

The  import,  then,  of  the  precept,  ^'  Remember  thy 
Creator,'^  is  nothing  less  than  an  injunction  to  regard 
and  reduce  to  practice,  all  that  is  comprised  in  the  sum- 
mary exiiibition  of  genuine  \'ital  piety  which  has  just 
been  given.  And  as  no  religion  short  of  this  will  save 
the  soul,  you  will  carefully  keep  in  mind  that  in  pleading 
with  you  to  enter  on  a  life  of  religion,  it  is  a  religion  of 
this  character  and  extent,  that  I  always  have  in  view. 
Lend  me  your  serious  attention,  therefore,  while  I  en- 
deavour 

II.  To  specify  and  urge  some  important  considera- 
tions which  should  engage  you,  who  are  now  "  in  the 
days  of  your  youth,"  to  yield  to  the  precept  in  the  text 
an  immediate   and   cheerful   obedience. 

Let  it  claim  your  particular  regard  that,  in  the  pre- 
cept we  consider,  the  word  now  is  peculiarly  emphatick. 
^^  Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  tliy 
youth'' — noiv  before  the  fleeting  period  of  youth  be  past; 
now  "  while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw 
nigh,  when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them  ;'^ 
now^  without  thinking  of  evasion  or  a  moment's  delay. 

Be  reminded,  too,  that  what  I  have  said,  in  regard  to 
the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  aids  of  grace  be- 
ing concerned  in  the  conversion  of  the  soul,  is  by  no 
means  to  be  considered  as  discouraging  attention  and  ex- 
ertion, on  your  part.  So  far  is  this,  indeed,  from  fur- 
nishing a  reason  against  laying  motives  before  you,  and 
urging  you  to  consider  them,  that  it  affords  the  most 


166  DISCOURSE  VIL 

powerful  encouragement^  both  for  me  to  speak  and  for  you 
to  hear.  The  doctrine  of  our  dependence  on  the  grace 
of  Godj  ought  ever  to  be  viewed  in  an  encouraging 
liglit ;  as  inspiring  hope^  by  pointing  us  to  an  Almighty 
Helper.  Divine  influence  is  not  a  blind  impulse.  It  is 
God's  own  appointment  that  his  grace  should  be  looked 
for  in  the  use  of  means.  It  operates  along  with  considera- 
tions and  motives  addressed  to  our  reason  and  conscience. 
While  these  considerations  and  motives  are  candidly  and 
seriously  pondered^  divine  grace  inclines  the  will  and 
affections^  renewed  by  its  power,  sweetly  to  consent  and 
obey — to  choose  and  act  aright.  Endeavour,  therefore^ 
to  open  your  minds  to  the  full  influence  of  truth ;  and 
lift  up  your  hearts,  at  this  moment,  in  fervent  aspirations 
for  the  presence  and  assistance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that 
you  may  hear  effectually — sensible  that  you  are  hearing 
for  the  life  of  your  souls. 

1.  The  first  consideration  to  which  I  would  direct 
your  attention,  as  calculated  to  engage  you  to  enter  on  a 
life  of  true  religion  in  your  youth,  is  the  reasonableness 
of  the  thing  itself.  Bend  your  whole  attention  to  this 
for  a  moment.  Say  if  it  is  not  fit,  and  proper  and  ration- 
al, that  the  God  who  gave  you  all  your  powers,  and  made 
you  capable  of  his  service,  love  and  enjoyment,  should 
have  those  powers  occupied  in  loving  and  serving  Him, 
as  soon  as  they  are  capable  of  this  employment.  Say  if 
the  reverse  of  this  is  not  most  unreasonable,  base  and 
rebellious.  Is  it  not  both  irrational  and  wicked,  in  a  ve- 
ry high  degree,  that  you  should  give  all  the  first  exer- 


DISCOURSE  YII.  167 

tions  and  afFections  of  your  minds  to  objects  which  rival 
your  Creator;  which  exalt  themselves  into  his  place, 
and  are  directly  opposed  to  his  claims  and  authority  ? 
To  whom  but  to  the  God  who  made  you,  the  Saviour 
who  died  for  you,  and  the  Sanctifier  who  must  pi^pare 
you — if  ever  you  are  prepared — for  heaven,  should  the 
morning  incense  of  your  whole  souls  be  offered  ?  With 
what  language  shall  I  sliow  the  reasonableness,  and  per- 
suade you  to  the  resolution,  of  making  God  your  Jirst 
love  ?  You  cannot  deliberately  intend  to  remain  his  ene- 
mies, and  perish  forever.  Oh,  then,  be  not  so  infatuated, 
so  ungrateful,  so  impious,  so  unutterably  base,  as  to  re- 
fuse Him  your  hearts,  till  they  shall,  for  a  season,  have 
been  prostituted  to  the  love  of  sin  and  the  service  of  Sa- 
tan! To  God  your  Maker,  let  all  your  mental  powers 
be  consecrated,  from  the  period  of  their  earliest  exercise. 
On  this  your  ultimate  salvation  may  depend.     For 

2.  The  faculties  of  the  human  mind  are  more  happily 
adapted  to  religious  exercises  and  duties  in  youth,  than 
they  usually  are  in  after  life.  In  youth  the  affections 
are  more  warm  and  tender,  the  conscience  is  more  sensi- 
ble and  easily  impressed,  the  rational  faculty  is  more 
fresh  and  active,  and  the  whole  mind  is  more  fair  and 
less  biassed  against  truth  and  duty,  than  it  almost  ever 
is  at  any  subsequent  period.  From  these  circumstan- 
ces, the  principles  of  piety  commonly  find  in  the  youtii- 
ful  mind  a  soil  most  favourable  to  their  radication, 
growth  and  fruitfulness.  At  whatever  period,  indeed, 
the  "  good  seed'^  may  be  sown,  it  will  never  '•  spring  up 


168  DISCOURSE  VIL 

and  bring  forth  fruit/'  unless  it  be  quickened  and  clier- 
ished  by  the  power  of  divine  grace ;  and  this  effect,  we 
admit,  could  as  readily  be  produced  by  that  God  with 
whom  all  possible  things  are  equally  easy,  in  the  old  and 
rocky  heart,  as  in  the  heart  that  is  youthful  and  soft. 
But  the  God  of  nature  is  the  God  of  grace ;  and  both  in 
nature  and  in  gi^ace,  he  commonly  operates  according  to 
the  fitness  of  things,  and  in  a  regular  order  established 
by  himself.  By  his  order  youth  is  fitted  and  intended 
for  improvement  of  every  kind ;  for  improvement  in  mo- 
rals and  piety,  as  well  as  in  understanding  and  knowl- 
edge ;  and  in  youth,  accordingly,  the  life  giving  power 
and  effectual  culture  of  his  grace  are  oftenest  witnessed. 
It  is  an  indisputable  fact,  that  of  those  who  become  pi- 
ous, a  large  majority  of  the  whole  number  become  so  be- 
fore they  are  far  advanced  in  life. 

If  then  you  would  avail  yourselves  of  an  advantage  in 
seeking  the  favour  of  God,  from  his  own  appointment, 
and  from  the  very  constitution  of  your  nature,  you  must 
do  it  now — now  before  your  hearts  are  doubly  hardened 
and  perverted  by  the  habits  and  the  deceitfulness  of  sin. 
You  will  be  most  likely  to  attain  genuine  piety,  and  to 
attain  it  with  the  least  pain  and  difficulty,  if  you  seek  it 
in  youth;  and  if  the  attainment  be  now  made,  you  will 
perform  the  duties  of  religion  far  more  comfortably  and 
advantageously,  than  if  this  great  concern  be  delayed 
till  you  reach  a  more  advanced  age.  This  will  more 
fully  appear,  by  considering 


DISCOURSE  VIL  169 

3.  That  in  youth  there  is  a  freedom  from  that  pres- 
sure of  worldly  business  aiid  cares,  and  from  a  thousand 
unavoidable  avocations,  which  commonly  occupy  and  en- 
gross the  attention,  when  men  have  entered  on  active  op 
professional  life.  Then,  indeed,  the  cares  of  the  world 
generally  render  it  extremely  difllcult  to  keep  up  that 
fervour  of  piety  which  had  previously  been  excited — To 
enkindle  the  flame  is,  often,  in  these  circumstances, 
scarcely  practicable. 

With  youth  who  have  occasionally  some  serious  im- 
pressions of  religion,  while  yet  the  love  of  pleasure  or 
the  lure  of  ambition  sways  their  minds,  it  is,  I  know,  a 
favourite  notion,  which  often  serves  to  lull  their  con- 
sciences, that  when  they  shall  be  established  in  business 
and  settled  in  families,  they  will  find  a  period  far  more 
advantageous  than  the  present,  for  devoting  themselves 
to  the  service  of  God.  This  is,  in  various  respects, 
an  awful  delusion.  Presumptuous  youth !  Your  Ma- 
ker requires  you  no7u  to  remember  him.  And  do  you 
deliberately  resolve  to  remain,  for  years  to  come,  in  a 
state  of  disobedience  to  his  command  ?  Do  you  not  know 
that  '^  God  is  angry  with  the  wicked  every  day  ?"  and 
should  not  this  awaken  your  fears,  that  you  may  be  cut  off 
in  your  sins, before  the  time  which  you  have  allotted  for  his 
gervice  shall  arrive  ?  Have  you  not  seen  some  examples, 
for  they  frequently  occur,  of  this  alarming  dispensation  ? 
Examples  of  those  who  have  been  hurried  out  of  life,  be- 
fore the  time  had  come  which  they  had  proposed  and 


170  DISCOURSE  VII. 

promised  to  devote  to  religion  ?  And  will  you,  in  the 
face  of  such  examples,  venture  on  this  tremendous  risk  ? 

Have  you  not,  also,  heard  already  in  this  address,  and 
do  you  not  believe,  that  the  influences  of  divine  grace 
must  be  afforded  to  you,  if  you  ever  truly  repent  of  your 
sins  and  turn  to  God  ?  And  have  you  not  great  cause  to 
fear,  if  you  systematically  resolve  on  continuing  to  offend 
Him  for  a  season,  that  he  may  give  you  up  to  that  final 
hardness  of  heart  and  searedness  of  conscience,  which 
will  as  certainly  be  followed  by  perdition,  as  if  it  were 
already  sealed  by  death  and  judgment  ?  Alas !  how  ma- 
ny have  I  known — for  my  observation  has  long  been 
directed  to  this  very  point — how  many  have  I  known 
who  in  youth  seemed  to  be  ^^not  far  from  the  kingdom 
of  God,'^  but  who  were  seduced  from  pressing  into  it,  some 
by  one  temptation,  and  some  by  another,  till  they  became 
at  length  hardened  in  impenitence.  Some  of  them  have 
already  passed  into  eternity;  some  of  them  yet  live; 
and  some  are,  at  this  hour,  numbered  among  infidels  or 
scepticks.  Let  me  warn  and  entreat  you,  to  shun  a 
course  of  such  unspeakable  peril — ^^  Grieve  not  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God,  vv hereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of 
redemption/*' 

But  even  on  the  supposition  that  your  life  shall  be 
prolonged  to  the  period  which  you  have  assigned  for  re- 
ligion, and  that  the  strivings  of  the  Spirit  of  grace 
shall  also  be  continued — for  God  is  a  sovereign,  and  it 
belongs  not  to  us  to  pronounce  with  certainty  on  the  limits 
of  his  forbearance  and  grace — still  there  is  every  reason 


DISCOURSE  VII.  171 

to  believe  that  it  will  be  far  more  difficultj  then^  than 
now,  to  enter  on  a  life  of  devotion  and  piety.  Tlie 
oppression  of  worldly  care  and  professional  business, 
the  deceitfulness  of  riches,  the  society  and  opinions 
of  w^orldly  men,  the  unpleasantness  of  making  a  change 
of  character  and  adopting  new  habits  of  life,  and 
the  influence  of  family  connexions  decidedly  hos- 
tile to  religion,  may  all  conspire  to  increase  the  diffi- 
culty we  contemplate.  They  often  have  conspired, 
and  some  of  these  causes  always  will  operate,  to  cre- 
ate obstacles,  which  require  resolution  and  exertion  of 
the  most  vigorous  and  determined  kind  to  surmount  or 
remove,  from  those  w  ho  have  to  commence,  if  they  ever 
do  commence,  a  life  of  true  religion,  after  they  are  im- 
mersed in  the  world. 

On  the  whole,  my  young  friends,  be  assured,  as  the 
result  of  much  observation,  that  you  are  never  likely  to 
find  so  favourable  an  opportunity  to  attend  effectually  to 
the  concerns  of  your  souls,  as  you  now  have,  within  the 
walls  of  this  house  ;  and  that  you  have  serious  cause  to 
apprehend,  if  you  go  from  this  house  without  religion, 
that  you  will  go  through  life  and  into  eternity  without  it. 
''  Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time ;  behold,  now  is  the 
day  of  salvation — To  day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  har- 
den not  your  hearts." 

4.  Another  motive  or  consideration,  which  should  de- 
termine the  young  to  remember  their  Creator  in  the 
days  of  their  youth  is^  that  by  so  doing  they  will  obtain 


irt  DISCOITRSE  VII. 

the  best  and  most  satisfying  evidence  of  the  sincerity 
and  reality  of  their  religion. 

There  are  seasons  in  the  lives  of  almost  all  men,  in 
which  the  mind  turns  on  serious  subjects,  and  looks  to 
religion  for  consolation.  But  alas !  melancholy  experi- 
ence demonstrates  that  all  seriousness  is  not  religion. 
In  hours  of  danger  and  distress,  or  disgust  at  the  world, 
thousands  have  professed,  in  the  most  solemn  manner, 
and  apparently  with  the  most  honest  intention,  to  devote 
themselves  to  God,  who  have  discovered,  after  all,  that 
their  hearts,  although  wounded,  were  not  changed:  for  as 
soon  as  the  cause  that  seemed  to  render  religion  necessa- 
ry was  removed,  their  seriousness  vanished  with  it.  All 
their  goodness  was  ^^as  the  early  cloud  and  as  the  morning 
dew.^'  The  sun  of  health,  or  pleasure,  or  prosperity, 
converted  it  into  vapour  and  scattered  it  to  the  winds. 
The  knowledge  of  this  has  grievously  distressed  some, 
who  have  given  the  best  evidence  that  affliction  had  been 
the  season,  or  age  the  period  of  life,  in  which  they  had 
been  brought  home  to  God.  ^^  Ah ! — says  the  afflicted 
penitent — how  many  have  there  been  who  in  distress 
promised  as  fairly,  and  seemed  to  think  as  seriously  as 
I  do  now ;  and  yet  all  was  temporary,  all  delusive  ?  How 
can  I  know  that  I  am  at  heart  better  than  they !  How 
can  I  be  certain  that  I  am  sincere!'^ — "What  evidence 
have  I — says  the  hoary  headed  penitent — that  I  truly 
love  God,  and  am  not  merely  cloyed  with  the  world ! 
I  did  not  choose  religion  till  the  v/orld  had,  in  a  mea- 
sure, lost  its  relish.     The  best  part  of  my  days,  at  any 


DISCOURSE  ni.  173 

rate,  has  been  spent  in  disobedience  to  God.  I  can  offer 
him  only  the  remnant  of  life,  and  the  leavings  of  sin;  and 
I  fear  that  it  is  by  mere  constraint  that  I  profess  to  make 
even  this  offering." 

Those  who  have  the  least  cause  for  these  fears  and 
jealousies  of  their  sincerity^  are  the  very  persons  who 
are  the  most  apt  to  indulge  them.  And  is  it  not  desira- 
ble, my  young  friends,  to  escape  the  pain  and  perplexity 
of  such  a  state  of  mind  as  this  ?  Is  it  not  desirable,  not 
only  to  be  truly  pious,  but  to  have  the  comfort  of  it  too  ? 
If  so,  embrace  religion  while  you  are  young.  If  you  vol- 
untarily choose  it,  while  you  are  in  youth  and  in  health  ; — 
if  when  the  w orld  flatters,  when  the  opportunity  of  sin- 
ful indulgence  favours,  when  depraved  appetite  vehe- 
mently prompts,  when  all  the  enemies  of  your  souls  as- 
sail you  with  advantage ; — if  in  these  circumstances  you 
choose  the  ways  of  true  piety  and  godliness,  you  will 
have  every  possible  evidence  that  you  are  sincere ;  that 
your  hearts  are  given  to  God,  and  that  your  interest  in 
his  favour  is  sure.  This  advantage  you  now  have,  and 
you  will  not  have  it  at  a  future  day  :  if  you  lose  it  now 
it  is  lost  forever.  Yes,  if  you  prefer  God  before  the 
world,  when  the  world  is  most  inviting  and  attractive, 
you  obtain  an  evidence  that  he  is  supreme  in  your  affec- 
tions, which  otherwise  you  cannot  have.  Then,  in  the 
hour  of  danger  and  distress,  he  will  be  your  sweet  and 
comfortable  refuge.  You  will  go  to  him  with  a  filial  con- 
fidence. If  spared  to  advanced  life,  when  ^^the  evil 
days  come,  and  the  years  draw  nigh  when  you  shall  say 


174  DISCOURSE  VIL 

I  have  no  pleasure  in  them/'  you  will  have  the  satisfac- 
tion to  know  that  in  better  days  than  these,  you  made 
the  Lord  your  portion ;  and  you  will  have  the  support- 
ing assurance  that  "  he  will  not  cast  you  off  in  time  of 
old  age.'' 

I  cannotj  indeed,  adopt  the  unqualified  language  which 
some  use,  when  they  talk  about  the  good  deeds  of  a  well 
spent  life  comforting  an  aged  christian  in  the  view  of 
eternity;  because  I  know  .assuredly  that  it  must  be,  not 
his  own  merits,  but  the  merits  of  liis  Saviour,  that  must 
afford  him  solid  comfort  then ;  yet  this  I  may  say,  that  a 
life  of  piety  is  the  very  best  evidence  that  our  union  with 
Christ  is  real  and  sure.  In  this  view  exactly,  it  is  men- 
tioned by  the  Apostle — '-Y  am  now  ready  to  be  offered, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought 
a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the 
faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,  which  the  Lord  the  righteous  judge  shall 
give  unto  me  at  that  day.'^ 

In  a  word,  a  life  of  piety  begun  in  youth,  from  the  cir- 
cumstances of  its  commencement,  and  from  the  opportuni- 
ty it  affords  to  grow  in  grace,  to  be  useful  in  the  world,  and 
to  gain  experience  in  religion,  affords  the  best  advantage 
for  obtaining  certainty,  in  a  concern  wherein  certainty  is 
most  of  all  desirable ;  certainty  that  the  soul  is  safe ; 
certainty  that  everlasting  happiness  is  your's.  Incon- 
siderate youth!  what  would  you  not  give  to  have  your 
happiness  for  this  world  insured  ?  Behold;  I  point  you 
out  a  way  to  insure  it  for  eternity ! 


DISCOUllSE  TIL  175 

5.  What  has  just  been  said  receives  mucli  force,  from 
the  consideration  that  early  piety  is,  in  every  view,  pro- 
ductive of  pleasure  and  satisfaction,  through  life.  This 
is  a  consideration  suggested  by  Moses  the  man  of  God. 
In  his  remarkable  prayer  for  the  children  of  his  people  he 
says  "  0  satisfy  us  early  with  thy  mercy,  that  we  may 
be  glad  and  rejoice  all  our  days."  Solomon  recognizes 
the  truth  of  the  same  doctrine  when  he  says — ^^  Wis- 
dom's ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths 
are  peace."  And  the  Apostle  Paul  adds  his  testimony 
to  the  rest — ^*  Godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things,  hav- 
ing the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which 
is  to  come."  But  although  this  sentiment  be  thus  pow- 
erfully fortified  by  the  authority  of  scripture,  its  justice 
is  admitted  by  youth  with  more  difficulty  than  almost 
any  other.  Religion,  they  wnll  allow,  is  advantageous 
for  a  future  world,  but  not  for  the  present.  "  You  may 
speak,  say  they,  of  its  insuring  happiness  hereafter;  but 
we  cannot  concede  that  it  is  favourable  to  present  plea- 
sure." Nay,  I  suspect  there  is  scarcely  another  idea 
which  the  adversary  of  souls  presses  on  young  minds  so 
frequently  and  successfully  as  this,  that  religion  would 
destroy  their  pleasures  ;  or  that  it  would  prove  hostile  to 
their  worldly  interests.  Let  me  beg  your  candid  atten- 
tion, then,  for  a  few  minutes  to  an  argument  on  the  point ; 
and  afterward  judge  for  yourselves. 

Shall  I  begin  with  speaking  of  persecution?  To  that 
persecution  which  destroys  life  and  property,  we,  at  pre- 
sent, are  happily  not  exposed.    But  if  we  were,  I  should 


176  DISCOURSE  VH. 

tell  you,  that  where  religion  has  produced  one  martyr, 
the  want  of  it  has  produced  a  multitude.  Vice  has  her 
martyrs,  and  she  has  sacrificed  at  her  shrine  a  hundred 
victims  of  sensual  pleasure  and  lawless  indulgence,  where 
adherence  to  religion  has  been  the  cause  of  death  to  an 
individual.  The  victims  of  vice,  too,  have  expired  by 
deaths  unspeakably  more  distressing,  than  the  holy  mar- 
tyrs of  evangelical  truth  have  experienced.  Do  you 
think  that  the  bloated  wretch,  who  drags  out  a  miserable 
existence  of  years  of  lassitude,  langour,  disgust  and  pain, 
the  eifects  of  intemperance  and  debauchery,  and  at  last 
dies  without  hope — Do  you  think,  I  say,  that  the  sum  of 
this  man's  sufferings — leaving  eternity  out  of  view — is 
not  unspeakably  gi^eater,  than  the  amount  of  his  who, 
with  heaven  in  prospect,  dies  on  a  scaffold,  or  is  consum- 
ed at  the  stake  ?  I  leave  the  answer  to  yourselves. 

To  the  hatred  of  the  profane,  the  sneer  of  the  ungodly, 
and  the  persecution  of  the  tongue,  you  must  expect  to  be 
exposed,  if  you  become  truly  pious  ;  for  "  All  that  will 
live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  persecution.^' 
But  is  not  the  hatred  and  the  sneer  of  unreasonable  men 
easier  to  be  born,  than  the  agonizing  remorse  of  your 
own  consciences?  Is  it  not  more  tolerable  that  the  tongues 
of  wicked  men  should  persecute  you  for  doing  your  duty, 
than  that  the  prayers,  the  tears,  the  admonitions,  and 
the  entreaties  of  your  pious  parents  and  friends,  should 
reproach  you  for  neglecting  it?  And  are  you  not 
chargeable  with  pusilanimity  and  inconsistency,  if  cen- 
sure from  those  who  differ  from  you  on  common  sub* 


DISCOURSE  Vlf,  iff 

jects  affects  you  but  little,  and  yet  you  are  found  to  shrink 
from  the  revilings  of  a  wretched  infidel,  or  dn  impious 
blasphemer  ? 

Or  will  you  suggest  that  religion  is  the  nurse  of  gloom 
and  timidity?  The  justice  of  such  a  suggestion  I  must 
explicitly  deny.  Religion,  like  every  thing  else,  has  beeii 
abused,  and  the  best  things,  when  abused,  usually  be- 
come the  worst.  But  religion,  in  its  genuine  spirit,  is 
the  consoler  of  the  dejected  :  and,  taken  in  experience, 
it  is  constantly  found  to  be  the  cordial  which  keeps  the 
souls  of  pious  men  from  sinking,  under  distresses  that 
overwhelm  those  who  are  not  supported  by  its  powerful 
and  sacred  influence. 

Or  do  any  of  you  suppose  that  true  piety  is  unfav(?ura- 
ble  to  a  reputable  standing  in  society?  Nothing  is  more 
contrary  than  this,  both  to  reason  and  experience.  Re- 
ligion in  all  ages  and  countries,  has  been  considered  as 
the  guard  of  integrity  and  confidence.  Without  hei* 
oaths  and  sanctions  society  cannot  exist.  Hypocrisy  it- 
self bears  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  religion,  in  in- 
spiring respect  and  confidence.  Knaves  become  hypo 
crites  that  they  may  be  trusted.  Their  pretence  is  de- 
testable, but  it  proves  that  genuine  piety  is  of  acknow- 
ledged value,  for  nothing  that  is  base  is  ever  counter 
feited.  Let  a  man  be  believed  to  be  really  and  deeply 
under  the  influence  of  religious  principk.  and  he  is 
trusted  without  reserve.  It  gives  a  dignity  and  a  weight 
to  his  character  which  nothing  else  can  confer, 

A2 


178  DISCOURSE  VII. 

Religion  too  is  friendly  to  industry.  Industry,  indeed,, 
is  a  part  of  religion.  "  He  that  provideth  not  for  his  own 
household,'^  says  an  inspired  apostle  ^^hath  denied  the 
faith  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel.''  Now  character, 
confidence,  and  industry,  are  confessedly  favourable  to 
wordly  prosperity,  and  they  are  all  unquestionably  pro- 
moted by  religion. 

That  religion  preserves  from  vice  and  moderates  the 
passions,  is  implied  in  its  nature  and  name.  A  vicious 
christian  is  a  perfect  solicism.  An  ambitious,  proud,  re- 
vengeful, drunken,  unclean,  profligate  christian,  is  lan- 
g^iage  of  which  every  one  instantly  perceives  the  absur- 
dity. And  does  religion  afford  the  best  guard  against 
all  the  evils  that  vice  and  intemperate  passions  and  ap- 
petites produce  ?  Assuredly  it  does.  Look  round  then 
upon  the  w  orld,  and  when  you  see — as  you  certainly  may 
see — that  the  greater  part  of  all  the  miseries  of  human 
nature  proceed  from  these  causes,  confess  that  the  rem- 
edy of  these  evils,— ^a  remedy  which  heals  the  very  foun- 
tain of  them  in  the  human  heart, — cannot  be  hurtful  to 
happiness,  but  must  abundantly  increase  it. 

Neither  is  religion  injurious  to  the  accumulation  of 
property,  to  the  comfortable  enjoyment  of  our  posses- 
sions, nor  to  4  participation  in  any  rational  pleasure.  The 
limits  which  |it  sets  and  the  restraints  which  it  imposes, 
iin  regard  to  :hese  particulars,  are  precisely  those  which 
treason  itself  prescribes  to  every  prudent  man.  Religion 
jforbids  avarice,  but  it  also  forbids  prodigality.  The  be- 
neficence  andl  charity  which  it  requires,  are  unspeakably 


DISCOURSE  VII.  179 

a  lighter  tax  than  that  which  dissipation  and  sinful  in- 
dulgence levy  on  their  votaries.  The  pleasure  too,  which 
arises  from  doing  good  with  our  suhstance  to  the  bodiesr 
and  the  souls  of  men,  is  far  greafler  than  that  which  ar- 
rises from  splendor  of  equipage,  from  the  indulgence  of 
animal  appetite,  or  even  from  the  imitative  arts. 

Every  gratification  and  pleasure  of  the  senses,  which 
does  not  weaken,  degrade,  or  injure  our  nature,  nor  'in- 
trude on  more  important  concerns  and  pleasures,  religion 
permits.  And  who,  that  values  himself  on  being  raised 
above  the  level  of  the  brutes,  would  wish  for  more  than 
this  ?  To  ^*' crucify  the  flesh  with  its  alTections  and  lusits," 
Christianity  certainly  requires;  but  this  self  command 
and  self  denial  are  really  conducive  to  the  greatest  en- 
joyment on  the  whole.  They  render  him,  who  comjplies 
with  the  precept,  infinitely  happier  than  the  slave  oiT  ap- 
petite, even  when  appetite  can  be  indulged.  That  man 
has  not  yet  learned  the  laws  of  his  nature,  any  more 
than  the  laws  of  the  gospel,  who  does  not  know  that  mod- 
eration, forbearance,  and  even  a  degree  of  abstinence,  is 
necessary  to  the  highest  gratification  of  his  senses. 

To  all  the  pleasures  of  friendship  and  society  true  pi- 
ety is  peculiarly  favourable.  There  is  sometliing  in  that 
softening  which  genuine  religion  gives  to  the  heart,  or  af- 
fections, w^hich  peculiarly  qualifies  its  possessor  to  be  a 
friend.  So  true  is  this,  and  so  much  verified  by  expe- 
rience, that  I  would  beg  you  to  make  the  observation  fop 
yourselves,  whether  in  the  sphere  of  your  own  acquain- 
tance, the  warmest,  the  tenderest,  the  most  lasting,  and 


\§0  DISCOURSE  VII. 

the  most  valuable  friendships  are  not  found  among  per- 
^ns  of  piety^  of  both  sexes  and  of  every  age. 

Neither,  in  this  place,  is  it  improper  to  repeat  the  ob- 
servation of  one  who  kad  seen  much  of  human  nature 
and  human  life,^  namely — that  all  that  politeness  and 
courtesy  of  manners,  which  bears  so  high  a  value  in  the 
world,  is  only  the  outward  expression,  and  too  often  a 
mere  expression,  of  that  humanity,  meekness,  kindness, 
and  benevolence  of  heart,  which  the  gospel  requires. 
To  govern  the  heart  and  life,  therefore,  by  the  spirit  and 
requisitions  of  the  gospel,  will  give  that  very  deportment 
whiph  constitutes  true  politeness,  in  every  thing  but  ar- 
bitrary forms  and  gracefulness  of  carriage. 

But  returning  to  things  of  more  importance,  how  ne- 
cessary is  religion,  both  to  dignity  and  happiness,  in  dan- 
ger, disease  and  approaching  death.  Danger  and  death, 
I  grant,  are  frequently  braved  without  religion.  But  in 
every  such  instance,  however  a  thoughtless  world  may 
dignify  the  daring  deed  with  the  appellation  of  heroism, 
reason  and  revelation  pronounce  it  madness.  To  be  fear^ 
less  of  eternal  perdition,  is  never  an  exercise  of  rational 
courage.  Yet,  after  all,  the  most  of  those  who,  unaided 
by  religion^  encounter  imminent  danger  without  dismay, 
dp  it  on  the  calcuUtion,  or  in  the  hope,  that  their  good 
fortune,  as  they  call  it,  will  bear  them  safely  through : 
Or  else,  their  spirits  are  excited  and  supported  by  the 
animating  influence  of  active  and  interesting  scenes, 
Many  a  man  has  been,  like  Cromwell,  a  dauntless  soldier 

*  Prince  of  Conti. 


DISCOURSE  VII.  181 

oil  the  field  of  battle,  who  has  been  dreadfully  terrified 
when  he  caiue  to  look  deliberately  into  eternity,  from  a 
sick  and  dying  bed.  With  few  exceptions,  when  the 
hope  of  life  is  taken  away,  he  who  is  unsupported  by  re- 
ligion will  tremble,  as  well  he  may;  and  he  who  is  truly 
pious  will  then  lose  his  previous  fears,  and  be  calm,  if 
not  triumphant.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  that  serenity 
and  inward  peace  which  genuine  christian  faith  produces, 
by  satisfying  the  believer  that  in  all  situations  and  events 
he  is  safe,  must  manifestly  have  a  powerful  influence  in 
promoting  the  general  happiness  of  life,  and  especially 
in  seasons  and  circumstances  of  alarm  and  peril. 

To  comfort  the  afllicted  is  an  office  that  the  world  itself 
commonly  assigns  to  religion.  It  is  indeed  difiicult  for 
religion  to  perform  this  oflice  when  it  is  resorted  to  only 
in  aflliction;  but  when  early  piety  has  proved  religion  to 
be  sincere,  it  is  in  aflliction  a  comforter  indeed — Ah  !  my 
dear  youth,  your  anticipations  of  futurity  often  resemble 
the  dreams  of  Joseph.  He  dreamed  of  his  prosperity 
but  not  of  his  adversity — He  dreamed  that  his  brethren 
should  bow  down  before  him,  and  that  his  parents  should 
do  him  homage.  But  he  never  dreamed  of  the  cruel 
hatred  of  his  brethren,  the  loss  of  his  liberty,  the  eff"ects 
of  slander  and  jealousy,  the  gloom  of  a  prison  and  the 
danger  of  an  ignominious  death.  In  like  manner,  but 
without  his  unerring  guidance,  you  often  picture  to  your- 
selves the  pleasing  prospects  that,  as  you  believe,  lie 
before  you ;  and  you  love  to  leave  out,  or  to  cast  into 
shade,  all  the  sorrows,  and  sufi'erings,  and  trials  of  life. 


183  DISCOURSE  VII. 

But  you  ought  to  be  apprised,  that  if  you  live,  it  will  not 
be  long  before  you  will  find  that  to  have  support  in  dis- 
tress, to  have  a  balsam  for  a  bleeding  heart,  is  one  of  the 
most  desirable  of  all  possessions.  This  medicine  of  the 
soul  you  will  ask  philosophy  in  vain  to  administer.  It  must 
be  found  in  "the  balm  of  Giiead,^^  applied  by  "the 
physician  there.''  The  efficacy  of  atoning  blood,  and 
the  sympathy  of  that  Saviour  who,  by  shedding  it,  has 
reconciled  the  sinner  to  his  God,  and  who  is  constantly 
"touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,''  will  be 
found  a  precious  remedy  for  a  wounded  spirit,  when  the 
world  has  lost  all  its  power  to  relieve  or  soothe.  To  be 
comforted  by  the  love  and  favour  of  a  covenant  God  in 
Christ,  when  all  earthly  comforts  fail,  and  so  comfor- 
ted, **to  rejoice  in  tribulation,''  is  the  high  privilege  of 
the  christian  believer  alone. 

But  now,  in  addition  to  all  this,  remember  that  reli- 
gion has,  at  all  times,  joys  and  pleasures  of  her  own. 
Hope  is  the  solace  of  human  life.  He  Vvho  has  the  lar- 
gest and  best  founded  hopes  is  the  happiest  man.  What 
think  you  then  of  the  hope  of  the  gospel  ?  What  think 
you  of  the  happiness  of  him  who  habitually  and  assu- 
redly hopes,  after  all  the  joys  and  sorrow  of  this  fleet- 
ing and  shadowy  state  are  past  like  a  fugitive  vision,  to 
receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away ;  to  see 
God  as  he  is ;  to  be  the  companion  of  saints  and  angels : 
to  grow  in  the  capacity  of  enjoyment,  and  to  have  that 
capacity  filled  with  unutterable  bliss,  to  all  eternity? 
What  think  you  of  such  a  hope  ?   Is  the  situation  of  the 


DISCOURSE  VII.  183 

meanest  saint  wlio  possesses  it^  to  be  Compared  with  that 
of  the  most  splendid  sinner  who  wants  it  ?  Is  the  state 
of  him  who  is  afraid  of  hcll^  or  if  not  afraid,  constantly 
in  danger  of  it,  to  be  compared  with  his  who  cherishes 
cin  humble  confidence  that  he  is  a  sure  candidate  for 
heaven?    Believe   me,  this  hope  of  the   christian  fre- 
quently produces  a  present  joy  and  peace,  which  are 
literally  unspeakable ;  which  are  "  exceeding  great  and 
full  of  glory."     When  the  light  of  God's  countenance  is 
lifted  on  the  soul,  when  his  love  is  shed  abroad  in  the 
heart,  when  the  Saviour  is  beheld  in  his  fullness  and  the 
believer  embraces  him  in  faith,  when  the  divine  glory  is 
seen  in  the  plan  of  salvation  as  ineffable  and  overwhel- 
ming, and  when  all  the  soul  goes  forth  unto  God  its  ex- 
Qeeding  joy — then  the   christian    experiences  a  felici- 
ty, one  moment  of  which  he  would  not  exchange  for 
ages  of  sensual  delight.     He  will  tell  you  that  there  is 
nothing  on  earth  which  deserves  the  name  of  happiness 
in  comparison  with  this ;  that  he  never  knew  what  hap- 
piness w^as  till  he  tasted  of  this ;  that  this  fdls  the  soul 
ill  all  the  extent  of  its  powers  and  energies,  and  sweetly 
constrains  it  to  exclaim,  '^  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but 
thee,  and  there  is  none  on  earth  that  I  desire  besides 
thee." 

Thus,  have  I  argued  this  point,  and  shown  you,  I 
think  conclusively,  that  it  is  a  just  consideration  and  a 
powerful  motive,  to  choose  religion  early,  because  it  will 
increase  and  insure  your  happiness  through  the  whole 
©f  subsequent  life.     Yes,  I  repeat  it,  I  urge  you  to  be- 


184  DISCOURSE  VIL 

Come  pioiis  that  you  may  be  happy,  in  those  various 
scenes  and  circumstances  which  may  await  you  in  your 
whole  passage  through  the  world.  Be  this  passage  longer 
or  shorter — whether  you  live  to  old  age,  or  die  at  an 
earlier  period,  there  is  nothing  which  will,  at  all  times, 
and  in  all  imaginable  situations,  contribute  so  much  to 
your  peace,  your  contentment,  your  respectability,  your 
support,  consolation  and  comfort,  as  unfeigned  piety, 
reigning  in  the  heart  and  governing  all  the  life  and 
conversation. 

6.  Another  motive,  or  consideration,  that  should  induce 
you  to  remember  your  Creator  in  the  days  of  your  youth 
is,  that  God  has  made  peculiar  promises  to  those  who 
do  so. 

Unsanctified  sinners,  who  have  no  just  knowledge  of 
God  or  of  themselves,  are  apt  to  suppose  that  they  may 
certainly  obtain  sanctifying  gi^ace  and  become  truly  pi- 
ous, at  any  period  that  they  may  see  fit  to  assign  for  the 
purpose.  It  is  on  this  supposition  that  those  unqualified 
promises  of  amendment  and  piety  are  made,  which  we 
sometimes  hear  from  profligate  men,  when  they  are  pres- 
sed by  danger ;  and  it  is  on  the  same  ground  that  all 
those  calculations  of  future  repentance  are  founded,  with 
which  thousands,  as  you  have  already  heard,  deceive 
and  ruin  their  immortal  souls.  They  forget  that  their 
nature  is  depraved  throughout;  that  to  change  their 
hearts  must  be  the  work  of  God  ;  that  faith  and  repen- 
tance are  his  gifts,  and  that  they  will  never  feel  any 
thing  but  an  insurmountable  reluctance  to  attend  to  their 


DISCOURSE  MI.  185 

immortal  interests,  unless  God  shall  be  pleased  to  giv« 
them  the  inclination,  and  to  help  them  by  his  grace.  They 
forget  all  this,  and  full  of  a  presumptuous  reliance  on 
themselves,  they  make  engagements  in  their  own 
strength,  and  form  plans  to  oflend  their  Maker,  and 
provoke  him  to  withhold  that  very  grace  which  is  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  the  execution  of  their  promises 
or  purposes.  He  who  has  right  views  of  religion  knows 
that  it  is  all  a  system  of  sovereign  mercy,  and  that  he 
must  rely  on  the  grace  and  promise  of  God^  for  all  that 
he  can  hope  to  be  or  to  do. 

Here,  then,  is  my  argument — God  hath  said — ^^  they 
who  seek  me  early  shall  find  me.'^  It  is  of  infinite  ad- 
vantage to  have  this  promise  in  your  favour  ;  you  have  it 
in  early  life,  and  you  will  not  have  it  afterwards.  If 
you  avail  yourself  of  it  now,  you  may  go  to  God,  and 
humbly  plead  his  own  gracious  declaration.  He  al- 
lows, he  is  pleased  with  this.  You. may  tell  Him  that 
you  rely  on  his  own  word,  '^  on  which  he  hath  caused 
you  to  hope  ;*' — that  by  special  offers  and  engagements 
he  has  mercifully  condescended  to  encourage  and  invite 
young  persons  to  seek  his  favour;  that  you  desire  to 
make  an  argument  of  this  in  your  own  case ;  that  you 
are  now  young,  and  would  by  his  assistance  and  grace 
be  consecrated  and  devoted  to  his  service,  glory  and 
praise ;  and  that  you  now  look  to  Him  to  make  good  to 
you  the  precious  assurance,  that  those  who  seek  him 
early  shall  find  him.   Oh !  lose  not  this  advantage,  I  en- 

B2 


186  DISCOURSE  VII. 

treat  you.  Did  you  know  how  valuable  a  special  prom- 
ise of  God  appears  to  a  soul  which  feels  its  guilt  and  its 
danger,  you  would  think  it  an  unspeakable  privilege  to 
have  one  exactly  suited,  as  this  is,  to  your  state  and 
circumstances.  Risk  not  the  danger  of  being  brought 
into  a  situation,  in  which  you  may  be  harrassed  with 
aw^ul  fears  of  the  divine  dereliction — fears  that  you  will 
never  find  what  you  seek.  Now  you  are  assured  that 
if  you  seek,  w^ith  humility,  and  earnestness,  and  perse- 
verance, you  shall  certainly  find — find  a  reconciled  God, 
and  an  eternal  friend  and  portion.  How  great  is  this 
encouragement  ?  Embrace  it  immediately,  with  earnest- 
ness and  gratitude. 

7.  Another  motive  oi*  consideration  which  urges  to 
early  piety  is,  that  it  affords  the  prospect  of  a  higher 
degree  of  happiness  in  the  world  of  glory. 

The  state  of  celestial  glory  is  represented  in  the  New 
Testament  as  an  inheritance — "  an  inheritance  incorrup- 
tible and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved 
in  heaven  for  you,  w^ho  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God 
through  faith  unto  salvation,  ready  to  be  revealed  in 
the  last  time."  This  inheritance  is  the*  purchase  and 
legacy  of  the  Redeemer,  and  as  such  all  his  people  ret- 
ceive  it ;  and  not,  in  any  sense  or  degree,  as  what  they 
,have  merited  for  themselves.  Yet,  in  apportioning  this 
inheritance,  in  bestowing  a  reward  perfectly  gratuitous, 
the  richest  allotment  and  the  highest  honours  will  be 
assigned  to  those  who  have  loved  and  laboured  most. 
We  are  told  expressly,  that  "  those  who  turn  many  to 


DISCOURSE  TIL  187 

righteousness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever,'' 
and  tliat  '•  as  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in 
glory,  so  also  shall  it  be  at  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.'' 
The  whole  par-ible  of  our  Lord,  in  regard  to  those  who 
received  different  talents,  and  who  occupied  with  them 
or  neglected  them,  goes  likewise  to  confirm  the  idea,  that 
future  rewards  will  be  proportioned  to  present  advant- 
ages, exertions  and  improvements. 

If,  then,  you  begin  the  love  and  service  of  God  in  ear- 
ly life,  you  become  candidates  for  distinction  in  the  man- 
sions of  heaven.  You  may,  indeed,  die  in  early  life, 
and  in  this  event  you  will  be  safe  and  glorious.  But  if 
you  are  spared,  and  are  diligent,  active,  and  zealous  in 
your  Lord's  service,  you  will,  through  endless  ages, 
share  in  that  "  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory,"  which  is  reserved  for  those  who  shall  have  done 
and  suffered  much  for  Christ.  This  is  a  consideration 
which,  perhaps,  you  may  never  before  have  taken  into 
view;  but  it  is  manifestly  both  just  and  important.  Are 
the  distinctions  of  this  world  the  object  of  ambition  ?  Do 
they  now  fill  you  with  emulation,  and  kindle  the  ardent 
desires  of  your  minds'?  This  day  I  propose  to  you  dis- 
tinctions of  an  infinitely  higher  order;  distinctions 
among  the  inhabitants  of  heaven ;  distinctions  in  the 
ranks  of  saints  and  angels.  Here  is  an  object  for  the  ef- 
forts of  a  holy  magnanimity,  the  contemplation  of  which 
may  well  make  your  souls  burn  within  you.  Enter  early 
into  the  service  of  God ;  enlist  this  day  under  the  great 
iCaptain  of  salvation,  and  not  only  will  he  bring  you  off 


188  DISCOURSE  VII. 

<•  conquerors  and  more  than  conquerors*'  over  all  your 
enemies,  but  you  will  be  candidates  for  those  palms  of 
triumph,  and  those  high  and  holy  preferments  in  his 
heavenly  kingdom,  which  are  awarded  to  his  most  active 
servants  and  most  zealous  and  faithful  friends. 

Let  us  now  for  a  moment  review  the  motives  and  con- 
siderations which  have  been  specified.  They  are  these 
—I  have  shown  you  that  the  early  devotion  of  yourselves 
to  the  service  of  God  is  a  thing  perfectly  reasonable  in 
itself — That  in  youth  the  faculties  of  the  mind  are  most 
happily  adapted  to  the  reception  and  the  exercises  of 
genuine  piety — -That  then  the  mind  is  not  burdened  with 
those  cares,  engrossed  with  that  business,  nor  exhausted 
with  those  anxieties  and  exertions,  which  are  likely  after- 
wards to  occur — That  early  piety  will  give  you  the  best 
evidence  that  your  religion  is  genuine — That  it  will  also 
qualify  you  to  pass  the  whole  of  your  after  life  with  the 
greatest  satisfaction,  advantage  and  pleasure — That  God 
has  made  peculiar  promises  to  those  who  seek  him  early 
^-And  that,  by  entering  on  a  life  of  religion  in  youth,  you 
may  become  candidates  for  a  higher  state  of  glory  and 
reward  than  you  might  otherwise  attain,  in  the  heavenly 
world.  These  considerations  have  been  addressed — as 
all  the  considerations  of  true  religion  are  addressed — to 
reason,  to  conscience,  to  a  sense  of  gratitude  and  dutv, 
to  the  judgment,  the  will  and  the  affections.  They  all 
eon  spire  to  show  you  that  you  ought  to  choose,  and  to 
persuade  you  actually  to  choose,  to  devote  yourselves  to 
God. 


DISCOURSE  VII.  189 

But  I  am  now,  in  concluding  my  address,  to  press  on 
your  undivided  attention,  what  has  constantly  been  sup- 
posed and  occasionally  inculcated,  that  this  is  not  a  mat- 
ter in  which  you  may  choose  on  the  one  side  or  the  other, 
as  inclination  may  prompt,  without  any  responsibility  for 
the  decision  you  make.  No,  verily — Let  me  speak  it  and 
you  hear  it  with  the  deepest  solemnity — it  is  the  command 
of  Almighty  God,  that  you  remember  him  in  the  days  of 
your  youth.  It  is  a  positive  precept  of  the  Lord  Jeho- 
vah, that  is  now  claiming  your  attention.  He  commands 
like  a  wise  and  ecpiitable  parent,  he  commands  what  is 
right,  and  reasonable,  and  for  your  own  benefit,  as  has 
been  fully  shown.  But  he  uses  authority,  as  well  as  rea- 
son and  persuasion.  Be  it,  then,  most  deeply  impressed 
on  your  minds,  that  if  you  this  hour  refuse  to  give  your- 
selves to  the  Lord,  and  every  day  and  hour  that  you 
shall  refuse  it,  you  will  incur  the  awful  guilt  and  danger 
of  disobeying  an  explicit  command  of  the  most  high  God. 
You  are  his  creatures,  and  he  has  the  most  perfect  right, 
the  most  unquestionable  and  unlimited  authority,  to  re- 
quire that  you  give  your  hearts  and  services  to  Him,  in 
the  morning  of  life.  He  actually  does  require  it :  And 
I  ask  of  you — and  consider  me  as  asking  you,  as  partic- 
ularly as  if  I  called  each  of  you  by  his  proper  name — 
whether  you  are  prepared  for  an  act  of  direct  disobedi- 
ence to  the  God  who  made  you.  If  you  are,  the  conse- 
quences will  be  inexpressibly  fearful.  You  will  remain 
under  the  divine  displeasure,  during  the  whole  period  of 
your  disobedience.     You  will,  every  moment,  be  in  dan- 


190  DISCOURSE  VII. 

ger  of  being  cut  oflp  in  your  sins,  and  sent  down  to  the 
abodes  of  eternal  woe.  If  spared  in  life,  you  will 
still  be  in  danger  of  growing  more  and  more  hardened 
in  sin,  of  being  left,  in  the  righteous  displeasure  of  God, 
to  be  filled  with  your  own  devices — to  fill  up  the  measure 
of  your  iniquities,  and  at  last  to  perish  with  a  more  ag- 
gravated condemnation.  Ah  !  why  have  I  spent  so  much 
time  on  other  and  lower  considerations  ?  When  we  know 
what  God  commands,  we  have  no  need  to  reason,  and  no 
right  to  hesitate.  Young  people  of  my  charge,  you  7nust 
remember  your  Creator — You  must  jioxv  remember  him, 
or  his  wTath  abideth  on  you — And  to  think  of  living  con- 
stantly under  the  frowns  of  the  Eternal ;  constantly  in 
danger  of  perishing  forevei' — ^the  mind  cannot  bear  it, 
the  thouglit  is  intolerable !  Hasten  then  to  a  compas- 
sionate and  inviting  Saviour.  Behold  I  now  present  to 
you  Christ  Jesus,  in  the  offer  of  the  gospel,  standing 
with  open  arms  to  receive  you ;  and  inviting  you,  by 
every  tender  and  by  every  awful  consideration,  to  come 
to  Him  for  life  and  salv^ation.  I  conjure  you,  without 
a  moment's  delay,  to  accept  his  invitation.  By  his  un- 
utterable dying  love,  by  the  precious  blood  which  he 
shed  for  your  redemption,  by  all  the  worth  of  your 
own  undying  souls,  by  the  fears  of  hell  and  the  hopes 
of  heaven,  I  conjure  you — I  conjure  you  this  moment 
to  form  the  solemn  resolution,  in  a  reliance  on  his  grace 
and  strength,  that  you  will  henceforth  earnestly  seek, 
till  you  satisfactorily  find  a  saving  interest  in  the  dear 
Redeemer.     May  God  of  his  mercy  grant  that  this  res- 


DISCOURSE  TIL  191 

olution  may  be  formed  in  each  of  your  liearts,  and  that 
you  may  now  rise  and  accompany  me  to  the  throne 
of  his  grace,  in  fervent  prayer  that  he  may  enable  yon 
to  carry  it  into  full  effect ! Let  us  pray. 


DISCOURSE  VIII. 


TEIE  MAN  OF  FALSE  HONOUR, 


MARK  VI.  26. 

^•'  And  the  khig  was  exceeding  sorry  ;  yet  for  his  oaths'^ 
sake,  and  for  their  sakes  which  sat  with  him,  hs 
would  not  reject  herP 

X  HE  world  has  seldom  witnessed  an  exhibition  of  de- 
pravity more  shocking^  than  that  which  is  described  ia 
the  narrative  of  which  these  words  are  a  part.  John^ 
the  fore-runner  of  Christ,  with  a  fidelity  and  firmness 
becoming  his  character,  had  pointedly  reproved  Herod 
Antipas,  king,  or  Tetrarch,  of  a  part  of  Jewry,  for  a 
most  flagitious  immorality.  Herod,  as  the  historian  Jo- 
sephus  informs  us,  had,  without  any  just  cause,  divorced 
his  lawful  wife,  and  taken  from  her  husband  Herodias^ 
the  wife  of  his  brother  Philip,  and  espoused  her  as  his 
own.  On  this,  the  Baptist,  regardless  of  the  monarch's 
authority  or  displeasure,  had  given  him  a  plain  and  se- 
vere reproof.  He  said — "It  is  not  lawful  for  thee  to 
have  thy  brother's  wdfe.  Therefore,"  continues  the 
Evangelist,  '*  Herod ias  had  a  quarrel  against  him,  and 

would  have  killed  him,  but  she  could  not.     For  Herod 

C2 


194  DISCOURSE  VIIL 

feared  John,  knowing  that  he  was  a  just  man  and  a  holy; 
and  observed  him,  and  when  he  heard  him,  he  did  many 
things  and  heard  him  gladly.     And  when  a  convenient 
day  was  come,  that  Herod  on  his  birth  day  made  a  sup- 
per to  his  lords,  high  captains  and  chief  estates  of  Gal- 
ilee :    and  when  the  daughter  of  the  said  Herodias  came 
in  and  danced,  and  pleased  Herod  and  them  that  were 
with  him,  the  king  said  unto  the  damsel,   ask  of  me 
whatsoever  thou  wilt,  and  I  will  give  thee.  And  he  sware 
unto  her — whatsoever  thou  shalt  ask  of  me  I  will  give  it 
thee,  unto  the  half  of  my  kingdom.     And  she  went  forth 
and  said  unto  her  mother — What  shall  I  ask  ?  and  she 
said,  the  head  of  John  the  Baptist.     And  she  came  in 
straightway  with  haste  unto  the  king,  and  asked,  saying, 
I  will  that  thou  give  me  by  and  by,  in  a  charger,  the 
head  of  John  the  Baptist.    And  the  king  was  exceeding 
sorry,  yet  for  his  oaths'  sake,  and  for  their  sakes  who 
sat  with  him,  he  would  not  reject  her.     And  immediate- 
ly the  king  sent  an  executioner,  and  commanded  his 
head  to  be  brought :  and  he  went  and  beheaded  him  in 
the  prison  ;  and  brought  his  head  in  a  charger,  and  gave 
it  to  the  damsel :  and  the  damsel  gave  it  to  her  mother.'^ 
What  an  unparralleled  scene  of  complicated  wicked- 
ness  and   cruelty  is   here !     I  cannot   proceed  to   the 
discussion  of  the  text,  till  I  have  given  you  the  admi- 
rable and  eloquent  remarks  of  Dr.  Doddridge,  on  this 
horrible    transaction.      ^^We    see,''    says   Doddridge, 
*^in  this  dreadful  instance  of  Herodias,  what  an  im- 
placable  degree  of   malice   may  arise  in  the   hearts 


DISCOURSE  VIII.  195 

of  sinners,  on  being  reproved  for  the  most  scandalous 
and  mischievous  vices.  Instead  of  owning  the  obliga- 
tion to  one  that  would  liave  plucked  her  as  a  brand  out 
of  the  burning,  s\\t  thirsts  insatiably  for  his  blood;  and 
chooses  rather  to  indulge  her  cruelty  and  revenge  in  ta- 
king away  his  life,  than  to  gratify  her  avarice  and  ambi- 
tion in  deinaiiding  a  gifty  that  might  have  been  equal  to 
the  half  of  a  kingdom. 

But  how  jnysterious  was  that  providence  which  left 
the  life  of  so  holy  a  man  in  such  infamous  hands,  and 
permitted  it  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  malice  of  an  abandon- 
ed harlot,  to  the  petulancy  of  a  vain  girl,  and  to  the 
rashness  of  a  foolish  and  perhaps  an  intoxicated  prince, 
who  made  the  prophefs  head  the  reward  of  a  dance ! 
The  ways  of  God  are  unsearclmble  !  but  we  are  sure  he 
can  never  be  at  a  loss  to  repay  his  servants  in  another 
world  for  the  greatest  sufferings  they  endure  in  this,  and 
even  for  Ife  itself,  when  given  up  in  his  cause. 

We  may  reasonably  conclude  tliat  death  could  never 
be  an  unseasonable  smprise  to  this  excellent  samt.  When 
the  executioner  came  into  the  prison  by  night,  perhaps 
breaking  in  upon  his  slumbers,  and  executed  his  bloody 
commission  almost  as  soon  as  he  declared  it,  a  soul  like 
his  might  welcome  the  stroke,  as  the  means  of  liberty 
and  glory ;  assured  that  the  transient  agony  of  a  momeyit 
would  transmit  it  to  a  kingdom,  where  the  least  of  its  in- 
habitants would  be  in  holiness,  honour,  and  felicity,  su- 
perior to  John,  in  his  most  prosperous  and  successfai 
state  on  earth. 


196  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

His  enemies  might  a  while  insult  over  him^  while  his 
disciples  were  mingling  their  tears  with  his  dust,  and  la- 
menting the  residue  of  his  days  cut  off  in  the  midst. 
But  his  death  was  precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord^  and 
the  triumphing  of  the  wicked  was  short.  So  will  he  ere 
\oYi^  plead  the  cause  of  all  his  injured  people,  and  give  a 
Cup  of  trembling  and  astonishment  to  those  that  have 
made  themselves  drunk  with  their  blood.  Let  cruelty 
and  tyranny  do  their  worst,  verily  there  is  a  reward  for 
the  righteous,  verily  there  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the 
earth,^^ 

After  these  impressive  and  edifying  reflections  on  the 
whole  narrative  of  which  the  text  is  a  part,  let  us  pro- 
ceed to  consider  it  separately ;  and  to  make  a  practical 
application  of  the  instruction  which  it  affords. 

I.  "  The  king — says  the  text- — ^was  exceeding  sorry, '^ 
From  this  it  appears  that  Herod,  had  as  he  was,  still  re- 
tained no  inconsiderable  degree  of  sensibility.  From 
some  cause  or  other,  he  felt  much — He  was  not  only 
sorry,  but  "  exceeding  sorry.'^  Let  us  inquire  into  the 
probable  causes  of  this  sorrrow. 

1.  He  was  probably  sorry  because  the  performance  of 
his  rash  oaths  w^ould  injure  his  character  and  reputation 
with  the  world.  Although  a  despotick  prince,  still  he 
would,  no  doubt,  be  rather  loved  and  respected,  than  hated 
and  detested,  even  by  his  own  subjects.  All  tyrants, 
whether  great  or  small,  always  wish  to  be  feared  by 
those  who  are  dependent  on  them  ;  but  they  do  not  wish 
to  be  hated  and  despised — They  commonly  desire  and 


O 


DISCOURSE  Vllf.  197 

expect  to  be  reverenced  and  loved.  In  this,  indeed, 
they  must  necessarily  be  disappointed,  because  servile 
fear  and  a  degree  of  hatred  are  inseparable.  Servile 
fear  is  a  painful  feeling,  and  we  naturally  hate  that 
which  gives  us  pain.  Tyrants,  however,  the  inconsis- 
tency notwithstanding,  seldom  fail  to  demand  and  ex- 
pect that  their  dependents  should  dread  them  as  mas- 
ters, and  yet  love  them  as  parents ;  and  they  are  fre- 
quently angry,  even  to  madness,  when  they  find  that 
their  expectation  cannot  be  realized.  History  informs 
us  that  the  father  of  the  Herod  to  whom  our  text  refers, 
took  the  most  effectual  measures  which  a  dying  man 
could  take,  to  have  seventy  elders  of  the  Jews  put  to 
death,  on  the  day  of  his  own  decease,  that  his  departure 
from  the  world  might  be  attended  with  mourning  and  not 
with  rejoicing.  What  a  wretch  is  a  tyrant,  with  all  his 
pomp  and  power !  And  how  precious  is  that  love  and  ven- 
eration which  we  delight  to  yield  spontaneously  to  virtue 
and  goodness,  but  which  wealth  cannot  buy,  nor  power 
exact ! 

But  if  the  Herod  of  whom  the  text  speaks,  and  who 
too  closely  resembled  his  father,  had  so  completely  alien- 
ated the  affections  of  his  own  subjects — as  indeed  seems 
to  have  been  the  fact — that  he  could  have  but  little  hope 
of  regaining  them,  and  therefore  might  pay  but  little  re- 
gard to  this  consideration,  still  he  was,  no  doubt,  very 
desirous  to  have  his  character  stand  fair  with  the  Ro- 
mans, from  whom  he  held  his  powxr,  and  who  hated  acts 
of  wanton  and  individual  cruelty.     He  would,  therefore^ 


198  DISCOURSE  VIIL 

be  exceeding  sorry  to  do  a  thing  which  would  injure  hiiu 
in  the  estimation  of  those  to  whom  he  owed  allegiance ; 
and  whose  good  opinion  he  was  most  of  all  solicitous  to 
secure  and  preserve. 

He  might  also  be  sorry  that  he  had  sworn  to  do  that 
which  might  brand  his  memory  with  infamy  to  the  remot- 
est ages.  This,  happily,  is  a  consideration  which  some- 
times has  a  degree  of  influence  on  those  great  and  pes- 
tilent scourges  of  the  world  who  are  regardless  of  better 
motives.  The  disgusting  transaction  to  which  the  text 
refers,  has  not  only  rendered  the  name  of  Herod  an 
abomination  with  every  reader  of  sacred  story,  but  the 
Jewish  historian,  already  named,  has  recorded  it,  to  the 
endless  reproach  of  his  character  with  his  own  nation : 
And  it  is  at  least  possible,  that  the  anticipation  of  some- 
thing like  this,  might  mingle  with  other  considerations, 
to  render  him  exceeding  sorry,  at  the  perpetration  of 
the  detestable  deed  to  which  his  oaths  had  pledged  him. 

2.  We  are  warranted  in  saying  that  Herod  was  afraid 
tliat  John's  popularity  would  produce  public  disturbance 
and  insurrection,  if  he  w  ere  put  to  a  violent  death.  One 
of  the  evangelick  historians  explicitly  states,  that  ^*  when 
Herod  would  have  put  John  to  death,  he  feared  the  mul- 
titude, because  they  counted  him  as  a  prophet.'^  There 
is  a  certain  point  beyond  which  no  people  will  bear 
oppression,  nor  suffer  their  feelings  to  be  outraged  ;  and 
when  their  oppressors,  even  in  the  most  absolute  govern- 
ments, pass  this  point,  they  often  do  it  at  the  expense 
of  their  whole  authority  and  life  together — They  are 


DISCOURSE  VIII.  199 

deposed  and  destrayed  at  once.    Of  this  Herod  appears 
to  have  been  aware  and  fearful. 

The  Jews,  although  their  fiithers  had  slain  many 
prophets,  had  still  the  highest  regard  for  the  prophetick 
character.  They  had  now,  for  several  centuries,  been 
without  a  ]n*ophrt  in  their  nation.  John  had  convinced 
them  that  the  character,  so  long  extinct,  was  revived  in 
him :  and  his  reproof  of  their  cruel  monarch,  not  only 
for  incest,  but  *'*  for  all  the  evils  which  Herod  liad  done,'' 
demonstrated  that  he  possessed  the  elevated  and  undaun- 
ted spirit  of  the  ancient  prophets,  and  must  have  endear- 
ed him  greatly  to  the  people  at  large.  From  these  cau- 
ses, they  appear  to  have  held  him  in  such  profound 
veneration,  that  their  despotick  prince  himself,  in  his 
cooler  moments,  was  afraid  to  provoke  their  rage,  by 
taking  away  the  prophet's  life.  And  when  he  found  that 
he  had,  unawares,  given  his  oath  and  pledged  his  hon- 
our to  do  this  very  act,  he  was  of  course  exceeding  sor- 
ry— exceeding  sorry  that  he  had  brought  himself  into  a 
situation  in  which  he  was  to  run  the  risk  of  exciting  a 
public  insurrection,  by  which  both  his  power  and  his 
life  might  be  endangered  and  lost.  This  kind  of  sorrow 
the  vilest  of  men  often  feel.  They  are  not  sorry  for  the 
sin  they  commit,  but  sorry  that  they  can  not  commit  it 
without  inconvenience  and  danger.     But  yet, 

3.  There  seems  to  be  good  reason  to  believe  that 
Herod  had  some  very  painful  compunctions  of  con- 
science, on  this  occasion.  It  appears  that  he  had,  for  a 
while,  refused  the  entreaties  of  Herodias  to  put  John  to 


200  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

death,  not  only  because  he  feared  the  people,  but  be- 
cause he  feared  the  Baptist  himself;  feared  him  with 
that  kind  of  dread  which  a  wicked  man,  however  digni- 
fied by  station  or  clothed  with  authority,  is  often  com- 
pelled to  feel,  in  the  presence  and  under  the  rebukes  of 
a  man  of  confessed  and  eminent  holiness  and  virtue. 
Nay,  we  are  assured,  that  there  had  been  a  time  when 
the  preaching  of  John  had  made  a  considerable  impres- 
sion on  Herod.  The  context  informs  us  that  ^^  Herod 
feared  John,  knowing  that  he  was  a  just  man  and  a  ho- 
ly, and  observed  him,  and  when  he  heard  him  he  did 
many  things  and  heard  him  gladly.'^  Now,  although  it  is 
certain,  that  Herod  had  so  far  silenced  or  resisted  the 
remonstrances  of  his  conscience,  as  not  only  to  imprison 
John,  but  to  have  resolved  to  destroy  him,  if  the  fear  of 
the  multitude  had  not  restrained  him ;  yet  it  is  highly 
probable  that  when  the  matter  came  to  a  point,  and  he 
saw  himself  about  to  give  the  decisive  mandate  to  take 
away  the  life  of  this  holy  man,  whom  he  had  once 
venerated,  and  to  whose  admonitions  he  had  in  many 
things  yielded,  his  conscience  awoke,  and  his  mind  was 
greatly  disturbed  and  agitated. 

We  have  the  more  reason  to  believe  this,  because  we 
find  that  Herod's  conscience  gave  him  dreadful  distur- 
bance after  he  had  perpetrated  the  murderous  act.  He 
appears  to  have  been  a  Sadducee ;  and  of  course  he  de- 
nied, as  all  the  Sadducees  did,  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  and  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments. 
Yet  so  powerfully  and  painfully  did  the  awakened  con- 


DISCOURSE  VTTT.  901 

science  of  this  professed  infidel  operate  that,  in  opposi- 
tion to  all  his  avowed  principles,  no  sooner  did  he  heaf 
the  report  of  the  miracles  of  Christ  than  he  said — ^*  It  is 
John  whom  I  beheaded,  he  is  risen  from  the  dead.'' 
What  a  fearful  tormentor  is  a  guilty  conscience !  And 
how  often  are  infidelity  and  superstition  united !  He  who 
had  professed  to  believe  that  "  there  is  no  resurrection/' 
apprehends  the  immediate  and  miraculous  resurrection 
of  the  victim  of  his  crimes.  Alas  !  like  innumerable  infi- 
dels since,  Herod  did  not  really  believe  what  he  profes- 
sed. He  professed  what  he  xvishcd  to  be  true,  but  what^ 
after  all,  he  ^v\q\o\\s\\  feared  would  prove  to  be  false. 

On  the  whole,  from  the  facts  just  stated,  we  have  good 
evidence  to  conclude  that  the  mind  of  Herod  shuddered 
at  the  prospect  of  taking  the  life  of  John ;  and  that,  on 
this  account,  as  well  as  from  the  other  considerations 
that  have  been  stated,  he  was  exceeding  sorry  to  find 
that  he  had  sworn  to  do  what  he  dreaded  to  perform. 
Happy  had  it  been  for  him  if  he  had  refused  to  redeem 
his  impious  pledge  ;  if  he  had  rather  broken  than  fulfil- 
led his  wicked  oaths  ;  if  he  had  rather  lost  his  honour  in 
the  eyes  of  his  courtiers  than  killed  the  prophet  of  the 
Lord.     But  he  thought  otherwise ;  and  we  are  now 

II.  To  examine  the  principles  or  motives  from  which 
he  acted.  What  these  were  we  are  told  in  the  text — 
*•  For  his  oaths'  sake,  and  for  their  sakes  who  sat  with 
iiim,  he  would  not  reject  her." 

1.  ^^For  his   oaths'  sake  he  would  not  reject  her'' 

It  is  easv  to  show  most  conclusively,  that  Herod's  repeat- 

»2 


^2  DISCOURSE  Vlll. 

cd  oaths  an  this  occasion  were  not  obligatory.  His  sin — 
and  a  sin  of  no  ordinary  atrocity  it  was — consisted  in 
making  these  oaths.  Of  this  sin  he  ought  to  have  re- 
pented, and  not  to  have  added  to  it,  as  he  certainly  did 
to  a  most  awful  extent,  by  performing  his  oaths.  Cir- 
jcumstanced  as  he  was,  nothing  was  left  him,  in  the  way 
of  duty,  but  to  tread  back  the  false  and  rash  steps  he 
had  taken,  by  a  full  and  frank  acknowledgment  of  error 
and  guilt,  and  by  an  absolute  refusal  to  fulfil  the  engage- 
ments which  he  had  unlawfidly  made.  This  is  unques- 
tionably the  course  which  ought  to  be  taken,  by  every 
man  who  has  been  led,  by  whatever  cause,  to  bring  him- 
self under  a  promise,  vow  or  oath,  unlawful  in  itself. 

One  of  the  fathers  of  the  christian  church  has  made  a 
yemark  to  this  effect — that  the  very  terms  of  Herod^s 
oaths,  did  not  bind  him  to  behead  the  Baptist :  that  he 
might  and  ought  to  have  answered  Herodias,  that  a 
prince  was  bound  to  regard  justice  more  than  all  his  do- 
^fiiinions :  that,  in  this  view,  the  Baptist's  head  was 
worth,  not  only  more  than  the  half,  but  more  than  the 
Tvhole  of  his  kingdom ;  and  therefore  that  he  was  not 
pledged  to  comply  with  her  iniquitous  demand. 

It  was,  moreover,  infinitely  absurd  for  a  man  so  aban- 
doned as  Herod  was,  to  pretend  to  feel  a  moral  obliga- 
tion to  do  a  thing  most  unrighteous  in  itself,  after  disre- 
garding every  obligation  to  do  what  was  riglit.  How 
was  it,  then,  that  ''  for  his  oaths'  sake''  he  was  induced 
to  act  as  he  did  ?  Must  we  believe  that  he  was  left  of 
God  to  such  a  perversion  of  mind  as  really  to  think,  and 


DISCOURSE  Vnl.  203 

feel,  and  act,  as  if  he  were  bound  to  keep  bad  oaths  of 
promises,  although  lie  had  violated,  and  was  then  living 
in  the  violation  of  the  most  sacred  vows  and  engage- 
ments ?  Was  he  abandoned  to  such  an  infatuation,  was 
he  given  up  to  sucli  utter  delusion,  as  actually  to  consid- 
er himself  under  some  strange  kind  of  obligation,  to  risk 
his  reputation,  to  risk  his  life,  and  to  act  against  the 
plainest  principles  of  moral  equity,  rather  than  break 
the  oaths  he  had  made,  or  even  give  them  another  con- 
struction than  that  which  his  adulterous  wife  and  her 
wicked  daughter  had  chosen  to  put  upon  them  ?  It  cer- 
tainly does  appear,  in  fact,  that  such  men  as  Herod  was, 
will  not  unfrequently  make  an  unlawful  oath  or  vow,  and 
keep  it  scrupulously,  when  they  can  be  bound  by  no  mo- 
ral tie.  They  will  bring  themselves  under  an  oath,  et 
a  curse,  to  do,  or  to  forbear,  a  certain  thing — a  thing 
sometimes  right  and  sometimes  wrong  in  itself — and  this 
engagement  no  consideration  will  induce  them  to  violate. 
All  this,  liowever,  may  probably  be  resolved  into  that 
^ame  principle  of  false  honour^  on  which,  as  I  apprehend, 
the  whole  conduct  of  Herod  on  this  occasion  must  be  ex- 
plained. 

I  call  that  false  honour  which  sets  up  a  standard  by 
which  a  man  must  think  meanly  or  honourably  of  him- 
self, and  be  so  estimated  by  others,  when,  this  standard 
is  notwithstanding  opposed  to  some  plain  and  important 
principles  of  mora!  duty,  as  taught  and  sanctioned  by 
reason,  conscience  and  the  word  of  God.  Honour  al- 
ways purports  to  be  something  that  is  noble,  dignified  or 


204  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

generous ;  and  nothing  surely  can  be  truly  so,  which  is 
characterized  by  the  contrariety  I  have  mentioned.  It 
may  be  called  honour,  but  it  must  be  called  so  falsely  ; 
and  therefore,  without  any  harshness  or  exaggeration,  it 
may  be  denominated  false  honour. 

Now  there  have  been  men,  in  every  age,  who  have 
been  prone  to  establish  such  a  false  standard  as  we  con- 
template, and  to  make  the  point  of  honour  consist  in  a 
strict  conformity  to.  it.  Certain  principles  and  practi- 
ces, hostile  to  the  duty  which  is  due  both  to  God  and 
man,  they,  by  a  kind  of  tacit  compact,  agree  to  consider 
as  marking  the  character  of  the  man  who  acts  honoura- 
bly, spiritedly,  nobly  ;  and  who  of  course  renders  himself 
worthy  of  the  esteem,  countenance  and  company  of  those 
wjio,  according  to  their  classification,  are  men  of  honour. 
And  on  the  other  hand,  those  who  will  not  conform  to 
their  principles  and  standard,  they  agree  to  consider  and 
treat  as  mean  spirited,  contemptible  and  utterly  disqual- 
ified for  the  regard  and  society  of  honourable  men. 

Some  of  the  patrons  of  this  system  treat  all  religion 
with  open  contempt.  But  others  profess  to  reverence  its 
dictates  generally ;  and  some  of  them,  like  Herod,  re- 
tain \\o  inconsiderable  sensibility  of  conscience.  In  all 
cases.  However,  they  are  manifestly  practical  infidels. 
They  attempt  to  abrogate  the  divine  commands  by  re- 
quisitions of  their  own  which  diametrically  oppose  those 
commands.  They  establish  a  system  of  human  opinion 
and  a  criterion  of  character,  in  direct  hostility  with  that 
\vhich  God  has  prescribed,  and  which  he  has  sanctioned, 


DISCOURSE  VIIL  205 

not  only  in  liis  word,  but  in  the  natural  conscience  ot* 
man.  Practically,  therefore,  they  entirely  set  aside  the 
divine  authority,  and  rebel  against  their  Maker,  by  exalt- 
ing a  rule  of  action,  formed  by  themselves,  into  a  superi- 
ority to  that  which  has  been  given  by  Him. 

Nor  do  these  men  permit  any  one  who  claims  to  be  of 
their  number  to  falter,  whatever  may  be  the  conse- 
quences, in  pursuing  the  course  which  they  have  mark- 
ed out.  They  are  the  most  rigorous  and  unmerciful  ex- 
acters  on  earth  of  a  strict  conformitv  and  an  unvvaverinq; 
regard  to  tlic  rules  which  they  have  adopted.  No  mat- 
ter if  such  a  conformity  and  regard  will,  in  any  given 
instance,  destroy  a  man's  peace  and  happiness  both  for 
time  and  eternity,  still  they  insist  that  he  shall  not  hesi- 
tate ;  that  he  shall  modify  nothing ;  that  he  shall  go 
straight  forward ;  or  else  be  branded  as  a  man  destitute 
of  honour,  and  unfit  for  the  society  of  gentlemen. 

To  this  description  of  men  it  appears  that  Herod  be- 
longed, for  their  principles  alone  will  explain  his  con- 
duct. On  his  natal  day,  in  a  season  of  festivity,  in  whicli 
it  was  his  object  to  make  a  pompous  exhibition  of  every 
thing  that  might  elevate  him  in  that  scale  of  estimation 
which  measured  the  excellence  to  which  he  aspired,  he 
had  made  such  a  promise  as  only  a  monarch  could 
make,  and  had  confirmed  the  promise  by  reiterated 
oaths.  The  fulfillment  of  these  oaths  was  doubtless, 
in  his  expectation,  to  exalt  him  still  more,  and  to 
make  him  the  object  of  admiration  and  envy,  with 
those   whose    opinion   he   most  regarded.     Such  oatl>s 


206  DISCOURSE  VIIL 

were  not  to  be  broken  or  modified^  whatever  might  he 
the  hazard^  the  pain,  or  the  loss,  which  a  strict  compli- 
ance with  them  might  produce.  He  could  lose  nothing 
that  he  valued  so  much  as  his  honour.  This  is  the  stand- 
ing remark  which  such  men  have  ever  made  on  such  an 
occasion.  What,  therefore,  though  evei^^  principle  of 
justice  and  morality,  and  every  dictate  of  religion  and 
humanity,  forbade  a  compliance ;  what  though  he  was 
*^  very  sorry''  that  he  had  placed  himself  in  this  predic- 
ament, and  perhaps  would  have  given  the  half  of  his 
kingdom  to  be  fairly  delivered  from  it  ?  still,  when  Hero- 
dias  demanded  the  head  of  John,  '^  for  his  oaths'  sake 
he  would  not  reject  her.''  To  have  done  so,  while  he  re- 
tained his  false  rule  of  judging,  would  have  sunk  him  in 
his  own  estimation,  even  though  his  power  might  have 
protected  him,  as  probably  it  would  have  done,  against 
the  open  sneers  and  insults  of  his  associates.  But  their 
€steem  and  admiration  v,  as,  in  fact,  the  idol  that  lie 
"woi-shipped.     Hence 

2.  It  is  added  in  the  text — *'  For  tlieir  sakes  which  sat 
^vith  him,  he  would  not  reject  her." 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  circumstances  in  which 
Herod  was  placed  were  calculated  to  give  the  utmost 
force  to  his  corrupt  principles,  to  render  any  retraction 
peculiarly  difficult  and  mortifying,  and  to  urge  him  al- 
most irresistibly,  over  the  precipice  wliich  he  had  rashly 
and  foolishly  approached.  Those  who  sat  v*ith  hivci 
were  '^  his  lords,  high  captains  and  chief  estates  of  Gal- 
ifee,"  the  first  men  of  his  kingdom,  both  in  civil  and  mil- 


DISCOURSE  YIII.  207 

itary  stations.      They  had  been  invited  by  their  prince 
as  his  chosen  companions^  at  his  birth-day  celebration. 
Sitting  with  him  at  a  banquet,  in  which,  doubtless,  eve- 
ry effort  was  employed  to  give  to  convivality  and  fes- 
tive pleasure  their  highest  zest,  they  were  surprised  by 
an   unusual,    voluntary  and    condescending  act  of  the 
daughter*  of  the  monarch's  wife.      Salome,  possessing 
all  the  charms  of  youth  and  beauty,  and  all  the  grace 
which  art  could  give  them,  enters  the  assembly,  and  ex- 
hibits, for  the  entertainment  of  the  guests,  her  superior 
skill  in  dancing.   Enraptured  by  this  unexpected  height- 
ening of  the  gratification  both  of  himself  and  his  compa- 
ny, Herod  repeatedly  and  publickly  swears  that  he  will 
reward  her  courtesy  with  any  gift  that  she  shall  please 
to  name,  even  to  the  half  of  his  kingdom;  and  he  appears 
to  have  urged  her  to  put  his  sincerity  and  princely  mu- 
nificence to  the  proof.       Here,  then,  were  power,  pride 
and  gallantry,    all  put  in  pawn  for  the  fulfilling   of  his 
promise,  and  all,  of  course,  to  be  indelibly  tarnished,  if 
the  pledge  were  not  redeemed.      What  could  he  do, 
when  the  damsel,  after  retiring  for  a  few  moments  to  con- 
sult with  her  mother,   "  came  in  straightway  with  haste 
unto  the  king,  and   asked  saying,  I  will  that  thou  give 
me,  by  and  by,  in  a  charger,  the  head  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist V^     What  a  moment  w^as  that  for  Herod  !     At  that 
moment  he  probably  saw  that  all  which  had  been  done 
by  these  artful  and  abandoned  women,  was  the  result  of 
a  deliberate  and  deep  laid  plot  to  ensnare  him,  and  to 

*  IVe  learn  from  Josephus  that  her  name  was  Sulome. 

( d&eS) 


208  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

compel  him  to  sacrifice  John.  But  he  saw  himself  com^ 
pletely  taken  in  the  snare.  He  saw  the  truth  of  what 
he  might  before  have  learned  from  Solomon,  that  "  a 
whore  is  a  deep  ditch ;  and  a  strange  woman  is  a  nar- 
row pit.  She  also  lieth  in  wait  as  for  a  prey,  and  in- 
creaseth  the  transgressors  among  men.'^  But  in  his 
opinion  he  had  made  this  discovery  too  late  to  be  of  use. 
Will  you  say  that  he  ought  promptly  to  have  exposed 
the  detestable  artifice  by  which  he  had  been  entrapped, 
and  to  have  refused,  decisively  and  firmly,  to  be  made  the 
instrument  of  a  harlot's  murderous  vengeance?  Certain- 
ly he  ought  to  have  done  so.  But  to  do  it  his  whole  tem- 
per must  have  been  changed  at  once  ;  all  his  maxims  of 
honour  must  have  been  abandoned,  and  his  whole  system 
of  life  and  domestick  arrangements  must  thence-forward 
have  been  completely  changed.  In  a  word,  he  must  have 
taken  shame  and  blame  to  himself  before  all  the  rank  and 
fashion  of  his  kingdom,  knowing  at  the  same  time  that 
they  would  not  fail  to  despise  him  for  doing  it.  To  him, 
feeling  as  he  did,  this  was  worse  than  death  itself.  No — 
it  was,  without  doubt,  a  prime  object  to  dissemble  and 
conceal  his  folly  and  his  guilt.  He  had  himself  placed  the 
wretched  women  who  had  beguiled  him  in  the  stations 
which  they  held,  and  in  which  he  still  intended  to  main- 
tain them.  He  would,  therefore,  be  the  last  man  in  the 
world  to  tell  that  they  had  over- reached  him,  and  made 
him  the  tool  of  their  base  and  malignant  passions.  The 
desire  to  conceal  all  this  would  be  among  his  strongest 
temptations  to  fulfil,  with  apparent  fearlessness;  the  pro- 


.••i-^- 


DISCOURSE  Vm.  209 

mise  which,  in  his  heart,  he  was  exceeding  sorry  that  he 
had  ever  made.  Ah !  it  is  a  dreadful  situation  when  a 
man  has  gone  so  far  in  vice,  that  he  is  in  a  sort  compelled 
to  go  farther; — that  he  cannot  retreat  without  shame  and 
confusion,  nor  go  forward  without  increasing  his  guilt  and 
sealing  his  perdition.  How  cautiously  should  the  first 
steps  be  avoided,  which  may  lead  to  such  a  fearful  issue  1 
But  an  alternative,  after  all,  it  has  been  supposed  and 
said,  was  left  to  Herod,  by  the  adoption  of  which  he 
might  have  waved  a  compliance  with  the  revolting  re- 
quest of  Salome,  without  forfeiting  his  honour,  even  in 
the  estimation  of  his  companions.  He  might,  it  has  been 
suggested,  have  told  her,  that  he  felt  himself  at  liberty 
to  make  her  a  gift  more  valuable  than  that  which  she 
asked,  though  certainly  not  to  make  one  that  was  less 
so  :  that  seeing  her  disposed  to  wrong  herself,  by  asking 
what  he  was  sure  she  would  eventually  regret,  he  must 
interpose  to  prevent  it,  and  would  do  so  by  granting  her 

V  what  he  knew  would  afford  her  the  most  lasting  satisfac- 
tion :  and  then,  that  he  might  have  made  her  a  present 
which  would  have  been  a  proud  display  of  his  royal 
power  and  liberality. 

It  is  not  certain,  however,  that  Herod  had  time  or  so- 
briety enough  to  think  of  such  an  alternative  as  this ;  nor, 
if  it  had  been  suggested,  that  either  he  or  his  companions 
would  have  judged  that  its  adoption  would  preserve  his 
honour.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  those  who  claim  for 
themselves  exclusively  the  character  of  men  of  honour, 

^    do  seem;  at  times,  to  go  a  good  deal  farther  than  their 


210  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

own  principles  require.  But  it  must  be  recollected  that 
those  who  have  not  been  taught  in  their  school,  are  prob- 
ably not  competent  judges,  either  of  their  maxims  or 
their  feelings.  The  wretched  monarch  whose  case  we 
consider,  had  sworn  to  give  Salome  whatever  she  should 
ask.  Now,  to  propose  any  thing  else  than  what  she 
did  ask,  might  seem  to  reflect  on  her  choice  ;  and  not 
to  consist  with  that  high  and  delicate  regard  to  sex  and 
rank,  which  men  of  honour  always  affect.  It  might  also 
appear  unprincely ;  as  implying,  either  that  he  wanted 
the  power,  or  else  that  he  w^as  afraid,  to  do  what  had 
been  required :  and  to  be  afraid  of  any  thing,  except  the 
loss  of  honoui' — afraid  even  of  the  wrath  of  Him  ^^  who 
is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell,''  is  what — 
I  speak  it  with  horror — is  never  permitted  to  a  man  of 
false  honour,  when  that  honour  is  at  stake.  The  fact 
undoubtedly  was,  that  the  fidelity  of  John  had  given  an 
offence  to  Herodias,  for  which  she  was  resolved  that  noth- 
ing but  his  blood  should  ever  atone.  No  gratification 
could  be  put  in  place  of  this  ;  Herod  knew  it  well,  and 
probably  they  who  sat  with  him  knew  it  too.  When 
therefore,  this  was  asked,  his  honour,  he  thought,  was 
concerned  to  grant  it,  without  hesitation  or  evasion  ;  be- 
cause to  do  otherwise,  would  be  considered  as  a  reproach- 
ful shrinking  from  his  promise  and  oaths,  by  those  with 
w^hom  he  was  associated.  Yes — though  the  plain  truth 
must  appear  like  paradox  or  irony — a  nice  sense  of 
honour  required,  in  his  opinion,  that  he  should  immedi- 
ately kill  the  best  man  in  his  kingdom,  and  cause  his 
reeking  head  to  be  brought  in  a  charger  to  a  royal  ban- 


DISCOURSE  VITT.  211 

quet,  and  there  that  it  should  he  formally  delivered  to 
the  enchanting  damsel,  who  had  requested  this  princely 
present,  and  that  she  should  take  it  and  deliver  it  to 
lier  mother,  who  had  prompted  her  to  demand  it.  The 
point  of  honour  required  exactly  this  bloody  proceedings 
and  admitted  of  no  alternative.  It  was  nothing,  there- 
fore, though  the  thing  itself  was  shocking  beyond  all  des- 
cription— so  shocking  that  we  wonder  how  female  lip5 
could  ever  request  it,  or  female  hands  help  to  execute  it; 
nothing,  though  '-the  king  was  exceeding  sorry"'  that  he 
had  sworn  to  comply  with  this  request;  nothing,  though 
the  compliance  would  strike  at  his  character,  safety  and 
conscience,  all  at  once  ;  nothing,  though  it  was  forbidden 
by  every  law  of  God,  of  justice  and  of  humanity — as  a 
man  of  honour,  he  could  not  and  would  not  refuse  it. 
He  did  not  refuse  it — The  hojy  Baptist  was  that  night 
beheaded ;  and  a  sting  was  fastened  in  the  bosom  of  this 
man  of  honotir,  which  no  time  or  efibrts  could  ever  ex- 
tract, whose  poison  no  art  could  mitigate,  and  whose  cor- 
roding anguish,  through  the  whole  of  subsequent  life, 
was,  we  have  reason  to  fear,  the  earnest  only  of  the 
gnawings  of  that  worm  which  should  never  die,  and  the 
torments  of  that  fire  which  should  never  be  quenched. 

It  now  remains  to  close  this  discussion,  by  directing 
your  attention  to  some  important  lessons  of  practical  in- 
struction, which,  if  I  mistake  not,  it  both  teaches  and  en- 
forces.    It  teaches  us 

I.  To  beware,  generally,  of  imbibing  and  avowing 
false  and  dangerous  principles  ;    and  particularly  of  the 


>Alu- 


212  DISCOURSE  VIIT. 

perversion  and  abuse  of  the  principle  of  honour  and 
shame.  The  whole  of  Herod's  guilt  and  misery  might, 
probably,  be  traced  to  his  Saducean  tenets.  And  alas ! 
how  little,  frequently,  do  the  young  and  unthinking  sus- 
pect, when,  with  heedlessness  and  levity,  they  drink  in 
the  principles  of  infidelity,  or  adopt  any  system  of  loose 
morals,  that  they  are  taking  poison  of  the  most  fatal 
kind  ;  a  poison  Vv^hich,  if  not  seasonably  counteracted, 
may  prove  the  bane  of  all  their  happiness,  both  in  this 
world  and  the  world  to  come.  Before  they  are  aware, 
they  may  find  themselves  pursuing  a  course,  or  pledged 
to  actions,  which  lead  directly  to  ruin.  Yet  retraction 
then  will  be  all  but  impossible.  They  will  have  taken 
their  side,  and  avowed,  perhaps  boasted  and  sworn,  that 
in  the  circumstances  in  which  they  now  find  themselves 
they  would  risk  every  consequence.  Pride,  and  the 
opinion  of  their  associates,  therefore,  imperiously  forbid 
them  to  retreat,  and  impel  them  forw^ard,  it  may  be 
against  their  present  conviction  and  inclination,  till  they 
plunge  into  the  gulph  of  final  perdition.  My  young 
friends,  you  cannot  be  too  vigilantly  on  your  guard  against 
adopting  dangerous  principles.  Never  hastily  favour 
those  that  are  even  questionable  or  doubtful ;  and  never, 
especially,  pledge  yourselves  to  act  on  any  such  princi- 
ples. If  you  do,  you  may  speeddy  find  yourselves  in 
so  unhappy  a  dilemma,  that  you  must  either  retreat  with 
mortification,  or  persevere  in  guilt,  till  it  end  in  destruc- 
tion. 

Let  me  particularly  and  earnestly  caution  you,  as  a 
matter  of  great  moment,  against  the  perversion  or  abuse 


DISCOURSE  \  III.  213 

of  the  principle  of  honour  and  shame.  A  sense  of  hon- 
our and  slianie^  whether  rightly  or  wrongly  directed,  is 
exceedingly  powerful  in  its  influence ;  and  the  most  so, 
commonly,  in  minds  of  the  greatest  natural  sensibility 
and  ingenuousness.  This  principle  was  doubtless  inten- 
ded by  our  Creator  to  be  a  guard  to  virtue,  and  ought 
always  to  be  so  conducted  and  limited  as  to  answer  this 
intention.  But  alas  !  when  perverted  or  excessive,  as  it 
often  is,  it  leads  to  the  most  awful  and  appalling  crimes. 
Among  others,  it  is  frequently  productive  of  suicide  it- 
self. Shame  before  men,  is  exchanged  for  the  endless 
and  inconceivable  shame  and  anguish  of  the  invisi- 
ble world.  See,  then,  the  importance  of  regulating  this 
principle  by  the  unerring  standard  of  divine  inspiration. 
Adopt  no  principle,  as  a  principle  of  honour,  cherish  no 
sentiment  that  can  excite  shame,  if  it  contravene  any- 
thing in  God's  revealed  will.  Keep  on  tliis  ground  and 
you  will  be  safe ;  depart  from  this,  and  you  will  certain- 
ly be  in  danger.  Holy  scripture  will  teach  you,  that  the 
principle  in  question,  excellent  and  useful  as  it  is,  within 
its  proper  limits,  will  lead  to  sin,  and  not  to  duty,  when 
those  limits  are  exceeded.  When,  therefore,  you  have 
done  wrong,  never  refuse,  through  shame  or  pride,  to 
acknowledge,  forsake  and  amend  the  wTong.  This  in- 
deed, if  rightly  viewed,  is  far  less  shameful  than  to  per- 
sist, however  undauntedly,  in  error  and  guilt ;  and  it 
will  be  so  estimated  by  all  whose  opinion  is  most  deserv- 
ing of  regard.  Policy,  therefore,  as  well  as  duty,  points 
to  this  course.  The  wise  and  the  good  will  never  re- 
proach a  man  for  transgressions,  which  he  has  frankly 


214  DISCOURSE  VHI. 

confessed  and  penitently  forsaken.  None  can  do  tliis^ 
but  the  mean  spirited  and  the  hard  hearted.  But,  what 
ought  chiefly  to  be  considered  is,  that  the  approbation 
of  God  is  infinitely  to  be  preferred  before  that  of  man ; 
that  we  ought  to  dread  the  shame  and  contempt  of  the 
final  judgment,  unspeakably  more  than  any  which  ouv 
fellow  worms  can  at  present  inflict ;  that,  in  a  few  fleet- 
ing days,  it  will  no  longer  afl'ect  us  to  be  honoured  or  des- 
pised by  mortals,  but  that,  if  we  discharge  our  duty,  we 
shall  secure  an  eternity  of  happiness  beyond  the  grave. 

2.  Learn  from  this  subject  the  danger  of  intemperate 
indulgence — whether  it  be  of  particular  appetites,  or  of 
a  general  love  of  pleasure, 

Herod  was  probably  under  the  influence  of  an  intem- 
perate use  of  wine,  and  he  w  as  certainly  intoxicated  with 
the  pleasures  of  a  feast,  when  he  made  the  rash  oaths 
which  produced  embarrassment,  regret  and  murder. 
Nor  was  his  case,  let  it  be  remembered,  a  singular  one, 
except  in  the  atrocity  of  his  crimes.  It  is  the  common 
and  general  efl'ect  of  intemperance,  to  produce  guilt,  re- 
morse and  infamy.  The  man  who  has  drowned  his  rea- 
son in  his  cups,  has  sunk  below  the  level  of  the  brutes, 
and  is  often  the  worst  of  madmen.  How  then  should 
every  one  who  has  any  regard  either  to  his  body  or  his 
soul — to  his  personal  dignity,  to  his  reputation,  to  his 
health,  to  his  substance,  to  his  family,  to  his  peace  of 
mind,  or  to  his  eternal  interests — how  should  he  avoid 
the  first  and  most  distant  approaches  to  inebriation  ? 
How  watchful    should  he  be    against  forming  habitS;^ 


DISCOURSE  \  IlL  215 

which  tend  to  this  destructive  and  ahnost  hopeless  vice  ? 
How  resolutely  should  he  withstand  all  temptations,  or 
solicitations,  to  pass  the  bounds  of  the  strictest  temper- 
ance and  self  possession  ?  Believe  it,  there  is  no  vice  in- 
to which  men  are  oftencr  led  by  insensible  advances,  than 
into  intemperance.  A  powerful  propensity  to  it  is  fre- 
quently contracted,  before  the  danger  is  so  much  as  sus- 
pected. To  guard  against  it  elTcctually,  I  would  recom- 
mend to  you  all  to  adopt,  and  inflexibly  to  adhere,  to  a 
whole  system  of  practice,  calculated  not  only  to  ensure 
your  sobriety  on  particular  occasions,  but  to  preserve 
your  habits  from  any  tendency  to  its  violation.  In  doing 
this,  the  most  powerful  of  all  considerations  should  be, 
that  in  the  enumeration,  by  an  inspired  apostle,  of  char- 
acters which  preclude  all  hope  of  salvation,  the  drunkard 
is  one.  While  he  remains  such,  he  is  one  of  those  who 
^  have  no  inheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  and  of 
God.'^ 

Against  the  indulgence  of  lewd  propensities,  as  well  as 
ef  intemperance,  I  am  called  by  our  text  and  subject  to 
warn  you  distinctly.  If  Herod  had  been  chaste,  there  is 
no  probability  that  he  would  ever  have  murdered  John. 
It  was  his  adulterous  connexion  with  Herodias,  which 
originated  the  faithful  reproof  of  the  Baptist,  so  offensive 
to  himself,  and  to  the  harlot  whom  he  called  his  wife.  It 
was  her  blood-thirsty  malignity,  aided  by  tliat  art  and 
aubtility  which  licentious  women  usually  possess,  that  en- 
snared him  effectually,  and  impelled  him  to  tiie  deed 
ivhich  has  blasted  him  with  eternal  infamy.     But  Herod 


216  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

is  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance  of  these  effects  of  libid- 
inous indulgence.  History,  both  sacred  and  profane,  and 
even  your  own  observation,  may  furnish  you  with  many 
examples,  of  at  least  similar  effects,  proceeding  from 
the  same  cause.  Perhaps,  indeed,  there  is  no  one  vice 
which,  in  its  extreme,  more  debases  and  pollutes  the 
mind,  more  brutalizes  the  whole  man,  leads  him  to  more 
shameless,  detestable  and  atrocious  acts,  and  which  of- 
tener  gives  him  a  diseased  body,  as  well  as  a  degraded 
soul,  than  the  very  vice  which  we  now  contemplate.  Nor 
is  there  any  vice  to  which  a  man  is  more  in  danger  of 
becoming  enslaved,  if  he  indulges  in  it  at  all.  Yet  this  is 
a  vice,  my  young  friends,  to  which  persons  at  your  age 
are  especially  exposed,  and  against  which  they  need  to  be 
peculiarly  guarded.  Difficult  therefore  as  the  subject  is 
of  being  properly  and  profitably  discussed  in  publick,  I 
could  not  forbear  to  state  to  you  what  you  have  heard. — 
For  the  rest — and  for  the  best  description  that  was  ever 
given  of  the  arts  and  the  dangers  of  a  lacivious  woman — 
I  refer  you  to  the  seventh  chapter  of  the  book  of  Pro- 
verbs ;  and  I  earnestly  exhort  you  to  read  it  seriously, 
and  to  ponder  it  deeply,  in  your  closets.  In  the  mean 
time,  I  shall  repeat  in  your  heanng  the  solemn  and  im- 
pressive admonition  with  which  that  chapter  closes — 
''  Hearken  unto  me  now,  therefore,  O  ye  children,  and 
attend  to  the  words  of  my  mouth  :  Let  not  thine  heart 
decline  to  her  ways,  go  not  astray  in  her  paths  :  For  she 
hath  cast  down  many  \vounded ;  yea  many  strong  men 
have  been  slain  by  her.  Her  house  is  the  way  to  hell^ 
going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death." 


DISCOURSE  VIII.  217 

But,  beside  intemperance  and  lewdness,  the  excessive 
love  of  pleasure  may  lead  to  evils  without  number. 
Many,  like  Herod,  become  intoxicated  with  pleasure, 
when  not  entirely  intoxicated  with  drink.  Their  spirits 
are  so  elevated,  and  their  passions  so  excited,  by  the 
company  and  the  pleasurable  scenes  around  them,  that 
they  are  set  loose  from  all  sober  restraint.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances, they  say  and  do  many  foolish  and  extrava- 
gant things,  for  which,  on  reflection,  they  are  "  exceed- 
ing sorry."  But  they  have  so  entangled  themselves, 
their  pride,  their  honour,  their  character,  have  become 
so  enlisted  or  involved,  that  they  persist,  and  add  one 
vice  and  folly  to  another.  Examine  the  sources  and 
causes  of  violated  friendships,  of  deadly  offences,  of 
bloody  quarrels,  of  family  as  well  as  personal  affronts, 
of  pledges  and  promises  regretted,  of  controversies  and 
contentions  which  degrade  the  characters  of  all  who 
are  concerned  in  them ; — examine,  and  you  will  find  that  a 
large  part  of  them  may  be  traced  to  taverns,  to  theatres, 
to  parties  of  pleasure,  to  seasons  of  mirth  and  festivity, 
or  of  public  display — to  some  place  or  occasion  w  here 
the  parties  were  stimulated  by  the  observation  of  their 
companions,  or  intoxicated  with  the  flow  of  their  own 
spirits,  so  as  to  lead  them  to  speak  and  act,  as  they  nev- 
er would  have  spoken  and  acted  in  their  sober  moments. 
There  they  committed  their  first  error,  there  they  pledg- 
ed their  character,  and  afterwards  their  pride  would  not 
permit  them  to  correct  the  faults  into  which  their  pre- 
cipitancy had  led  them.    Listen  to  the  admonition  of  the 

F2 


218  DISCOURSE  VUL 

apostle.  ^^  Young  men  exhort  to  be  sober  minded/'^  Yes^ 
and  that  you  may  preserve  sobriety  of  mind,  I  do  ear- 
nestly exhort  you,  to  stand  aloof  from  all  places  of  un- 
lawful pleasure.  Shun  them,  as  you  would  shun  the 
pestilence.  And  even  in  scenes  and  seasons  of  pleasure 
which  is  lawful,  at  times  and  places  of  innocent  indul- 
gence or  recreation,  I  counsel  you  to  beware  of  too  much 
excitement.  Let  not  your  spirits  hurry  you  away  into 
any  excess,  or  extravagance,  of  speech  or  action.  Guard 
especially  against  all  hasty  and  rash  expressions^  all 
precipitate  promises  or  engagements,  which,  in  the  hour 
of  reflection,  you  will  review  with  deep,  and  it  may  be^ 
with  unavailing  regret. 

3.  From  what  has  been  said  in  regard  to  Herod^  you 
may  learn  that  the  principles  on  which  he  acted,  are  the 
the  very  same  on  which  men  of  false  honour  act  at  the 
present  time- 
Consider  the  duellist.  He  has  adopted  a  standard  of 
honour,  in  opposition  to  the  dictates  of  revelation,  rea- 
son and  conscience.  In  a  hasty  or  unguarded  moment, 
or  perhaps,  indeed,  with  coolness  and  deliberation,  he 
has  given  or  provoked  a  challenge,  and  is  pledged  to  a 
deadly  combat — it  may  be  with  one  whom  he  has  loved 
or  venerated.  He  has  a  wife,  or  children,  or  parents, 
or  friends,  who,  in  a  few  hours,  may  stand  over  his  life- 
less corpse,  and  to  the  latest  hour  of  life  suffer  anguish, 
and  perhaps  poverty  too,  as  the  consequence  of  his  rash 
act ;  while  his  own  soul,  all  covered  with  its  crimes, 
and  self- sent  to  the  bar  of  God,  shall  stand  there  to 


DISCOURSE  Mil.  219 

receive  its  unchanging  destination.  Or  suppose  it  is  liis 
antagonist  who  is  to  fall.  Then,  though  he  survive,  he 
may  he  corroded  with  remorse  to  the  end  of  his  days. 
The  spectre  of  his  murdered  hrother,  hurried  to  the 
eternal  world,  may  haunt  his  dreams,  and  seem  to  tell 
him  of  another  meeting  heyond  the  grave.  But  what  of 
all  this !  The  challenge  has  been  given  and  accepted ; 
and  the  man  of  honour  has  promised  with  an  oath,  never 
to  refuse  such  a  call  as  is  now  made  upon  him.  Al- 
though, therefore,  when  he  reflects  on  these  things,  he 
is  "exceeding  sorry"  that  he  is  thus  circumstanced;  yet^ 
for  his  oath's  and  honour's  s^ike,  and  for  their  sakes  who 
have  been  his  chosen  associates,  he  will  not  refuse  to 
fight.  He  will  do  it,  though  all  temporal  and  all  eternal 

considerations honour  alone  excepted forbid  him* 

Honour  in  one  scale,  and  all  the  tenderest  endearments  of 
life,  with  the  alternative  of  heaven  or  hell  in  the  other — 
honour  preponderates.  He  fights  and  falls  ;  or  he  lives, 
to  die  a  thousand  deaths !  And  are  these,  O  false  hon- 
our !  these  the  offerings  that  must  be  made  at  thy  shrine? 
Thou  bloody  Moloch !  thou  fiend  accursed !  depart 
from  earth  to  thy  native  hell !  Precious  youth  of  my 
charge — I  charge  you,  in  the  name  of  Christ  our  Sa- 
viour, have  nothing  to  do  with  this  sanguinary  demon. 
No  matter  what  are  the  consequences  of  not  accepting  a 
challenge.  They  weigh  less,  in  comparison  with  those 
which  follow  an  acceptance,  than  the  dust  of  the  balance 
against  the  everlasting  mountains. 


220  '  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

Let  us  next  consider  the  gambler.  He  too  claims  to 
be  a  man  of  honour.  His  honest  debts,  it  is  true,  he  ne- 
glects or  refuses  to  pay.  His  wife  and  children,  like- 
wise, often  want  their  daily  bread,  and  are  likely  to  be 
turned  houseless  on  the  world.  But  he  will  sell  or  pawn 
his  property,  to  the  last  farthing,  that  his  debts  of  hon- 
our may  be  fully  paid.  He  is,  indeed,  exceeding  sorry 
that  this  necessity  is  laid  upon  him,  but  his  honour  he 
must  sustain.  Promises  and  obligations,  of  the  most  sa- 
cred kind,  he  will  habitually  violate ;  but  a  promise,  or 
an  oath,  to  pay  a  debt  of  honour^  he  will  always  fulfil. 

My  dear  brethren,  there  is,  in  these  two  practices  of 
duelling  and  gambling,  ?J1  that  is  calculated  to  provoke 
not  only  our  abhorrence,  and  indignation,  and  regret,  but 
our  scorn  and  derision  too.  If  they  did  not  involve 
such  serious  consequences,  they  would  be  the  fittest  of 
all  subjects  for  ridicule  and  contempt.  There  is  inherent 
in  these  practices  something  so  infinitely  absurd,  and  in 
the  claims  to  honour,  of  those  who  indulge  in  them, 
something  so  perfectly  preposterous,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
expose  them  in  their  true  colours — and  I  have  sensibly 
felt  this  difficulty — without  the  appearance  of  a  manner 
that  savours  of  sarcasm,  and  borders  on  the  ludicrous. 
But  ah !  their  consequences  are  serious  beyond  the  pow- 
er of  description.  These  consequences  produce  no  smiles, 
but  many  tears.  Every  christian  should  weep  over  them. 
Every  christian  should  do  all  in  his  power  to  prevent 
them.  And  every  christian  must,  as  things  absolutely 
inconsistent  with  his  character  and  profession,   utterly 


DISCOURSE  VIII.  221 

renounce  and  avoid  these  practices  for  himself.  Remem- 
ber this,  my  young  friends — Remember  that  you  must 
renounce  them  ;  or  as  the  dreadful  alternative,  renounce 
the  gospel  and  the  hope  of  heaven.  Keep  this  alterna- 
tive steadily  and  constantly  before  you.  If  you  do  this, 
and  are  not  lost  to  reason  as  well  as  to  religion,  you  can 
never  be  duellists  or  gamblers. 

4.  Finally — From  the  example  of  Herod,  learn,  on 
the  one  hand,  the  danger  of  losing  the  serious  impres- 
sions of  religion  which,  at  any  time,  you  may  feel ;  and 
on  the  other,  the  importance  of  cherishing  them,  till 
they  deepen  into  permanent  piety.  When  Herod  heard 
the  Baptist  gladly,  and  did  many  things  agreeably  to 
his  instructions  and  exhortations,  there  was  a  flattering 
prospect  of  his  thorough  reformation.  Had  he  retained 
and  cherished  the  impressions  which  he  then  felt,  had  he 
yielded  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  and  gone  the  whole 
length  which  duty  required,  how  happy  had  been  the 
change  which  would  have  been  effected  in  his  charac- 
ter !  what  an  enormity  of  crimes  and  guilt  would  he 
have  avoided  !  how  different  would  have  been  his  con- 
dition on  earth,  and  his  prospects  for  eternity  !  But  he 
stifled  the  remonstrances  of  conscience,  he  resisted  the 
Spirit  of  grace,  he  lost  his  regard  for  religion,  he  turn- 
ed a  deaf  ear  to  his  faithful  reprover,  he  abandoned 
himself  to  his  vices;  at  length  he  became  a  murderer: 
and  at  last,  as  history  informs  us,  he  lost  his  throne^ 
was  banished  from  his  country,  and  v>ith  llerodias,  the 
partaker  and  the  prompter  of  his  crimes,  died  a  miser- 


222  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

able  death  in  exile.     A  course  similar  to  this^  if  not  its 
exact  parallel,  has   often  been  witnessed,  since  the  time 
of  Herod.     There  have  been  many,  who,  in  youth  espe- 
cially, promised  to  be  examples  of  piety,  the   blessings 
and  ornaments  of  society,  who  yet,  in  the  end,  became 
abandoned  to  every  thing  vicious  and  vile.      For  a  time 
they  were  attentive  to  instruction,  moral  in  their  beha- 
viour, did  many  things    commendably,   were   seriously 
thoughtful    about   their  eternal   interests,    nay,    deeply 
anxious  about  their  salvation,  and  apparently  ^^not  far 
from  the  kingdom  of  God.''     But  from  sloth  or  careless- 
ness, from  a  strong  attachment  to  something  inconsistent 
with  religion  and  forbidden  by  it,  from  the  seduction  of 
bad  companions,  from  imbibing  corrupt  principles,  from 
the  scoffs  and  sneers  of  the  profane,  from  a  desire  to  be 
rid  of  painful  feelings  and  unpleasant  duties,  from  the 
pleasures  or  the  business  of  the  world — from   some  of 
these  causes,  or  from  several  of  them  united — a  melan- 
choly change  took  place ;    the  voice  of  conscience  was 
disregarded  and  suppressed,  the  mind  was  turned  away 
from  religious  truth  and   duty,  serious  impressions  were 
effaced,  hardness  of  heart  ensued,  positive  aversion   to 
religion  soon  followed,  indulgence  in  vice  speedily  suc- 
ceeded, infidel  sentiments  were  then  adopted,  and  the 
apostacy  became  complete — The  unhappy  men  lived  in 
sin,  sometimes  with  a  degree  of  decency,  but  oftener  as 
profligates   or   blasphemers  ;    and  they    died  without 
hope,  perhaps  in  horror  and  despair.       Be  warned,  my 
dear  youth,  for  what  I  have  told  you  is  not  fiction,  but 


DISCOURSE  \  III.  22:^ 

lact,  which  I  have  witnessed  for  myself; — be  warned  not 
to  trifle  with  serious  impressions  of  religion  ;  be  afraid 
of  losing  them ;  be  careful  to  cherish  them ;  beseech 
God  to  strengthen  and  increase  them — '*  Grieve  not  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God^  whereby  ye  are  scaled  unto  the  day 
of  redemption.*' 

A  season  of  tenderness  of  mind  in  regard  to  the 
demands  of  religion,  is  a  season  awfully  critical  and 
important.  Eternal  consequences,  happy  or  terrible, 
often  follow  from  the  manner  in  which  a  man  acts  at 
such  a  time.  If  it  pass  over  without  a  thorough  con- 
version from  sin  to  holiness,  it  is  frequently  followed 
by  great  obduracy  or  stupidity ;  sometimes,  as  you  have 
heai*d,  by  final  apostacy.  If,  on  the  contrary,  such  a 
season  be  carefully^  and  watchfully,  and  prayerfully  im- 
proved, it  terminates  in  a  renovation  of  the  heart ;  in 
vital  union  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  in  genuine  set- 
tled piety.  Be  not  deceived  :  there  is,  be  assured,  no 
entire  security  against  your  ultimately  becoming  scep- 
ticks  and  profligates,  unless  you  become  real  practical 
christians.  You  may  think  otherwise,  and  resolve  to  be 
regular  and  moral,  and  to  treat  religion  with  decency 
and  respect,  without  embracing  it  cordially  as  a  rule  of 
life ;  and  of  all  this,  I  readily  admit,  there  are  some  ex- 
amples. But  I  do  aflirm,  that  there  are  also  many  exam- 
ples of  those  who  set  out  in  life  on  this  plan,  with  as  fair 
a  prospect  of  success  as  any  others,  who,  notwithstand- 
ing, have  gone  eventually  into  all  the  extremes  of  cor- 
rupt principles  and  licentious  practice  ;  and  therefore 


224  DISCOURSE  VIII. 

that  no  individual  who  adopts  the  plan^  can  have  any  se- 
curity that  he  will  not  be  added  to  the  number.  Ah ! 
my  young  friends,  we  all  depend  for  our  safety  on 
the  preserving  grace  of  God.  Let  Him  remove  the 
restraints  of  his  grace  from  any  man,  and  that  man 
is  undone.  ''  He,  therefore,  who  trusteth  in  his  own 
heart  is  a  fool.''  If  you  would  be  secure,  you  must 
seek  security  by  choosing  the  Lord  as  your  portion, 
and  by  constantly  imploring  his  grace,  protection  and 
guidance.  He  who  does  this,  is  the  most  promising 
candidate  for  happiness  and  usefulness  on  earth,  and 
the  only  candidate  for  the  bliss  of  heaven.  ^^  The  fear 
of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  knowledge,  but  fools  des- 
pise wisdom  and  instruction — Hear,  O  my  son,  and  re- 
ceive my  sayings,  and  the  years  of  thy  life  shall  be 
many.  I  have  taught  thee  in  the  way  of  wisdom,  I  have 
led  thee  in  right  paths.  When  thou  goest  thy  steps 
shall  not  be  straitened  ;  and  when  thou  runnest  thou 
shalt  not  stumble.  Take  fast  hold  of  instruction:  let 
her  not  go ;  keep  her,  for  she  is  thy  life.'^ 


DISCOURSE   IX. 


THE  Df'.VOUT  MAX. 


ACTS  X.  2. 

'^^  devout  man — 

J.  HIS  is  the  character  of  Coi'nelius,  a  Roman  centu- 
rion, and  the  first  convert  to  the  faith  of  Christ,   from 
among  the  Gentiles.      It  does  not  appear  that  he  was  a 
Jewish   proselyte.     Yet,   having  his  military  station  in 
the  land  of  Israel,  he  had  no  douht  derived  great  benefit 
from  the  Jewish  scriptures ;  for  it  is  certain  that  he  was 
not  only  instructed   in  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God^ 
hut  a  most  fervent  and  acceptable  worshipper  of  Him, 
even  before  he  was  visited  by  the  apostle  Peter.     Till 
that  time,   however,  he  was  but  very    imperfectly  ac- 
quainted with  some  of  the  most  important  points  of  true 
religion.      Men  may  sometimes  have  much  grace,   who 
have  but  little  knowledge ;    especially  when  their  defect 
of  knowledge  is  not  owing  to  neglect  or  indifference,  but 
to  a  want  of  the  means  of  information.      It  is  always 
true,  indeed,  that  when  divine  grace  changes  the  heart, 
an  ardent  desire  will  be  felt  to  know  more  of  God  and  of 
his  holy  will ;    so  that  rapid  and  surprising  advances  in 

G2 


226  DISCOURSE  IX. 

knowledge  will  often  be  made,  as  soon  as  the  opportuni- 
ty of  acquiring  it  is  offered.  But  before  this,  the  soul 
may  be  deeply  sanctified  ;  and  then,  as  in  the  case  of 
Cornelius,  better  information  will  be  earnestly  sought ; 
and  in  the  order  of  God's  providence,  it  will  usually  not 
be  long,  before  it  will,  in  some  good  degree,  be  commu- 
nicated. "Unto  every  one  that  hath — saith  the  Sa- 
viour— shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance — 
If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doc- 
trine, whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  my- 
self— He  that  fjlloweth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness^ 
l)ut  shall  have  the  light  of  life.'' 

It  is,  my  brethren,  the  distinct  object  of  this  discourse 
to  endeavour,  in  a  reliance  on  divine  aid,  to  give  you 
the  outline,  and  the  chief  features  of  such  a  character  as 
that  of  Cornelius  was — the  character  of  a  devout  man; 
and  then  to  make  a  practical  improvement  of  the  sub- 
ject. 

The  characteristick  distinction  noticed  in  the  text  is, 
I  am  well  aware,  undervalued  and  despised  by  the  pror 
fane  and  ungodly  world.  But  let  us  be  careful  that  we 
be  not  found  among  those  to  whom  it  is  said — "  Behold, 
ye  despisers,  and  wonder  and  perish"  !  Assuredly  the 
solemn  hour  is  not  far  distant,  when  to  have  been  a  rich 
man,  a  powerful  man,  an  influential  man,  a  wise  man,  a 
learned  man,  will  afford  little  consolation ;  but  when  to 
have  been  a  devout  man,  will  fill  the  soul  with  hope, 
and  joy,  and  triumph.  Yield  me,  then,  your  serious  at- 
tention, while   I  endeavour  to  present  such  a  man  to 


DISCOURSE  IX.  227 

your  view,  as  the  object  of  your  imitation  ;  as  possessing 
distinctions  at  which  we  all  ought  to  aim, — attainments 
which,  in  some  measure,  we  must  all  make,  or  be  undone 
forever. 

I  begin  with  observing,  in  general,  that  a  devout  mau 
is  the  designation  of  an  individual,  not  only  of  real  pie- 
ty, l)ut  of  eminent  piety  ;  of  piety  which  is  not  merely 
or  principally  speculative ;  or  such  as  consists  chiefly  in 
a  profound  or  accurate  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
religion.  A  devout  man  is  one  whose  religion  is  emi- 
nently praclical.  It  is  seated  in  his  heart,  and  con- 
stantly influences  his  affections  and  actions.  It  is  con- 
tinually leaciiig  him  to  humble  intercourse  with  his  Ma- 
ker; to  conunune  with  the  Father  of  his  spirit,  through 
the  mediation  of  his  Redeemer  ;  to  an  impressive  recol- 
lection of  the  divine  presence ;  to  seek  the  light  of 
God's  countenance;  and  to  regard,  as  the  highest  happi- 
tiess  on  earth,  the  comfortable  assurance  of  his  favour. 
In  a  word,  his  piety  has  a  direct  and  constant  influence 
on  his  temper  and  his  life.  He  strives  to  imitate  the 
perfect  example  of  his  Saviour,  in  spiritual  mindedness, 
in  Mevotedness  and  submission  to  the  will  of  God,  in 
meekness,  in  humility,  in  condescension,  in  kindness,  in 
the  forgivness  of  enemies,  in  going  about  doing  good. 

The  regard  of  the  devout  man  to  the  law  of  God  is 
peculiarly  characterized  by  its  being  impartial,  though 
imperfect.  He  feels  his  obligation  to  obey  all  the  laws 
of  God,  and  he  steadily  aims  at  such  an  obedience.  Yet 
this   obedience  is  not  ostentatious  i    not  rendered  that 


228  DISCOURSE  IX. 

men  may  observe  and  applaud  it.  It  is  an  obedience 
which  is  humble,  sincere,  strict,  simple^  frank^  cheerful, 
coming  right  from  the  heart, — dictated  by  cordial  love 
to  God,  to  the  law  which  he  has  given  as  a  rule  of  life, 
and  to  the  grace  of  that  gospel  in  which  is  all  a  sinner's 
hope.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from  the  character  of  a 
truly  devout  man,  than  to  take  one  part  of  religion  and 
leave  another. 

A  spurious  and  unfounded  claim  to  this  character, 
has  indeed,  sometimes  been  made,  and  has  done  infinite 
injury  to  religion,  by  bringing  the  truly  devout  man  into 
disesteem  and  contempt  with  the  world.  There  have 
been  men  who  have  professed  and  appeared  to  be  very 
devout,  to  be  much  given  to  prayer,  who  have  talked 
much  of  the  spiritual  part  of  religion,  and  of  their  ow^n 
engagements  and  exercises  in  it ;  and  yet,  at  this  very 
time,  as  has  eventually  appeared,  these  men  were  living 
in  the  viohition  of  all  the  moral  laws.  They  were  ambi- 
tious, or  covetous,  or  dishonest,  or  unclean,  or  intemper- 
ate, or  vindictive,  or  idle,  or  mischief  makers,  or  liars, 
or  whatever  else,  capable  of  disguise,  is  vile  and 
impious.  Certainly  a  more  detestable  race  of  hypo- 
crites than  these  cannot  exist :  and  we  not  only  give 
them  up  freely  to  all  the  reproach  and  abhorrence  of 
the  world,  but  we  claim  to  join  in  that  abhorrence  ;  to 
join  in  it  with  as  much  sincerity,  and  with  far  more  re- 
gret, than  they  who  sneer  at  all  religion,  because  these 
men  have  assumed  it  as  a  cloak  for  their  vices. 


DISCOURSE  IX.  229 

Yes,  I  repeat  it,  the  man  truly  devout,  is  of  all  men 
the  most  careful  not  to  neglect  any  part  of  his  duty.  He 
is  what  he  appears  to  be.  He  lives  as  in  the  presence  of 
Him  ^*  who  seeth  in  secret/'  and  who  will  ''  bring  every 
work  into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether 
it  be  good  or  whether  it  be  evil."  Of  all  hypocrisy,  there- 
fore, he  is  deeply  afraid  ;  not  only  of  that  which  is 
intended  to  deceive  the  world,  but  of  that  also  which 
arises  from  self-deception.  He  sacredly  regards  truth 
and  uprightness  in  all  his  words  and  actions.  He  is 
exemplary  in  obeying  the  second  table  of  the  divine  law, 
as  well  as  the  first.  He  is  just  and  benevolent  to  man, 
as  well  as  devout  toward  God.  His  piety  sweetens  his 
temper,  instead  of  souring  it ;  and  in  place  of  dispos- 
ing him  to  omit  any  duty  which  he  owes  to  his  fellow 
creatures,  it  renders  him  doubly  scrupulous  in  the  dis- 
charge of  all :  teaching  him  to  regard  every  duty,  when 
seasonably  performed,  as  equally  a  part  of  the  service  of 
God  ;  and  to  do  it  "  as  unto  the  Lord  and  not  to  man." 

Having  taken  this  general  view  of  the  character  of  a 
devout  man,  let  us  now^  consider  it  somewhat  in  detail, 
and  examine  its  constituent  parts. 

1.  First,  then,  a  devout  man  is  a  renewed  man,  ^^  Yc 
cannot  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  nor  figs  of  thistles.  A 
corrupt  tree  cannot  bring  forth  good  fruit."  You  may 
as  well  expect  an  effect  without  a  cause ;  nay,  you  may 
as  well  expect  a  cause  to  produce  that  effect  whicli  is 
most  unnatural,  or  contrary  to  its  proper  tendency,  as 
to  expect  a  holy  temper  and  life  to  proceed  from  an  un- 


230  DISCOURSE  IX. 

renewed  human  heart.  ^^The  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  God ;"'  it  is  sinful  and  depraved  throughout ; 
and  while  it  remains  so^  all  its  exercises  will  be  sinful. 
It  must  therefore  be  renewed,  before  it  can  know  a  tru- 
ly devout  feeling.  It  is  in  renovation  that  the  temper, 
taste  and  desire  are  implanted,  out  of  which  gen\iine 
devotion  grows,  and  in  which  it  has  its  root  and 
nourishment.  That  '^  repentance  unto  life,"  and  that 
^^ faith  in  Christ''  for  pardon  and  justification  before 
God,  which  are  the  foundation  of  all  holy  communion 
with  Him  ;  that  love  to  Jehovah  and  to  his  law,  which 
is  the  vital  principle  of  all  genuine  and  acceptable  obe- 
dience ;  all  these,  without  which  a  devout  life  cannot 
exist, — all  are  the  fruits,  or  products,  only  of  a  renewxd 
nature.  A  renewed  nature,  therefore,  is  essential  to  a 
devout  life,  as  a  cause  to  an  effect,  as  the  root  of  a  tree 
to  its  foliage  and  fruit. 

But  there  is  something  farther,  of  high  importance, 
that  must  be  noticed  here — Gh  that  I  could  state  it  in 
such  a  manner  as  suitably  to  impress  your  minds  and 
my  own.  Shall  I  say,  then,  that  some  men  are  con^'ert- 
ed  more  than  others  ?  Yes  ;  although  every  truly  good 
man  is  a  regenerate  man,  yet  some  good  men  are  more 
thoroughly  renewed,  are  far  more  extensively  or  deeply 
sanctified  than  others.  Now  a  devout  man,  as  we  have 
already  remarked,  is  a  man  of  eminent  piety ;  and 
therefore  he  who  aspires  to  this  character,  must  remem- 
ber that  he  cannot  possess  it  without  a  large  measure  of 
heart  sanctification.     Without  this,  all  efforts  at  an  ex- 


DISCOURSE  IX.  831 

emplary  discharge  of  duty,  will  be  difTicult,  feeble,  and 
often  omitted  ;  and  all  that  will  be  done  at  last,  if  not 
entirely  abortive,  will  be  miserably  imperfect.  He  that 
would  be  really  and  eminently  devout^  must  be  inward- 
ly and  eminently  holy. 

2.  A  devout  man  is  a  man  of  prayer.  He  of  whom 
the  text  is  spoken  ''  prayed  to  God  always."^  The  terms 
devout  and  prayerful  are,  indeed,  very  nearly  of  the 
same  import.  It  is  from  his  being  much  devoted  to 
prayer,  that  the  devout  man,  chiefly  and  primarily,  ob- 
tains his  distinctive  appellation.  Without  this,  there- 
fore, no  one  can  be  devout.  To  pray  much,  and  to  have 
inuch  real  engagedness  in  prayer,  is  essential  to  the 
character.  The  devout  man  always  considers  his  sca^ 
sons  of  prayer,  as  among  the  most  precious  and  pleas- 
ant of  his  life.  Still,  he  knows  that  he  is  sanctified 
but  in  part,  and  that  every  christian  is  in  danger  of  ne- 
glecting, or  of  becoming  remiss  in  prayer,  from  tempo- 
rary coldness,  and  a  consequent  indisposition  to  the  du- 
ty. Christian  prudence  will  therefore  dictate,  not  only 
that  he  set  apart  a  portion  of  time  daily  for  secret 
prayer ;  but  that  the  time  and  place  for  engaging  in  it^ 
be  deliberately  assigned  and  sacredly  regarded ;  and 
that  such  arrangements  of  secular  concerns  be  made, 
that,  in  ordinary  circumstances,  the  closet  hour  shall  not 
be  interrupted  by  company  or  worldly  care,  but  be  sa- 
cred to  heavenly  intercourse.  The  devout  man  will 
sooner  lose  a  portion  of  his  usual  sleep,  than  lose  the 
privilege   and  comfort  of    sweet   communion  with  his 


^32  DISCOURSP:  lit. 

God.  This  is  his  spiritual  nourishment,  and  he  cannot 
live  without  it.  Hence,  though,  to  guard  against  ne- 
glect, he  have  set  times  for  prayer,  he  will  not  con- 
fine himself  to  these.  A  devotional  frame  of  spirit 
will  lead  him  to  seize  many  a  secret  opportunity  to 
pour  out  his  heart  before  God,  beyond  his  twice  or 
his  thrice  in  a  day ;  and  to  observe  seasons  of  special 
prayer,  sometimes  accompanied  with  fasting,  when  pe- 
culiar providences,  or  his  own  state  of  mind,  demand 
them. 

Like  the  holy  men  of  scripture,  the  devout  man  will 
be,  in  secret,  a  frequent  and  fervent  intercessor  for  oth- 
ers ;  for  his  family  and  kindred ;  for  all  who  ask  his 
prayers  ;  and  for  many  who  never  ask,  but  who  urgent- 
ly need  them.  With  the  royal  Psalmist  he  will  also  be 
able  to  say  "  My  soul  shall  be  satisfied  as  with  marrow 
and  fatness  ;  and  my  mouth  shall  praise  thee  with  joy- 
ful lips  ;  when  I  remember  thee  upon  my  bed^  and  med- 
itate on  thee  in  the  night  watches.'^  He  will  likewise 
frequently  use  ejaculatory  prayer — in  business,  in  com- 
pany, in  travelling,  in  danger,  in  sorrow  and  in  joy. 
Devout  meditation  will  often  precede,  and  often  mingle 
with  his  prayers.  On  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord,  especi- 
ally, he  will  meditate  much  on  the  things  of  God,  and 
his  meditation  will  be  accompanied  with  many  devout 
aspirations  of  soul.  \\\  these  exercises  his  thoughts  and 
desires  will  ascend  to  heaven,  and  anticipate  something 
of  its  employments  and  its  pleasures. 


DISCOURSE  IX.  233 

The  devout  man  will  delight  in  social,  as  well  as  in 
secret  prayer.  With  his  family,  with  christian  friends 
on  many  special  occasions,  with  the  sick  and  the  afflict- 
ed, and  in  the  public  worshipping  assemblies  of  God's 
people,  he  will  not  fail  to  join  in  this  sacred  exercise. 
A  meeting  for  prayer  orily,  that  is,  a  meeting  in  which 
there  are  no  other  exercises  than  prayer  and  praise, 
will  not,  when  properly  conducted,  be  a  dull  and  te- 
dious meeting  to  him.  Nor  will  he  go  to  church  mere- 
ly to  hear  a  sermon.  The  devotional  exercises  of  pub- 
lick  worship — prayer  and  praise — will  be  to  him  pecu- 
liarly sweet  and  refreshing. 

In  a  word,  the  devout  man  lives  a  life  of  holy  inter- 
course with  Heaven.  And  as  it  is  by  prayer  that  this 
intercourse  is  most  directly  carried  on  and  preserved, 
he  will  be  ready  and  rejoice  to  engage  in  it,  in  every 
way  and  form,  in  which  the  duty  is  prescribed  or  sanc- 
tioned in  the  scriptures  of  truth "  Praying  always, 

with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and 
watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance,  and  sup- 
plication for  all  saints." 

3.  The  devout  man  will  earnestly  desire  to  under* 
stand  and  obey  tJie  revealed  will  of  God.  So  did  Cor- 
nelius. He  had,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  mani- 
festly availed  himself  of  his  residence  in  Palestine,  to 
obtain  a  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  and  of  the  manner  ia 
which  his  worship  might  be  acceptably  performed.  He 
promptly  obeyed  the  divine  command  to  send  for  Peter, 
to  tell  him  "  what  he  ought  to  do.''     And  when  the 

H  % 


234  DISCOURSE  IX, 

apostle  came,  "he  said — ^^Now^  therefore,  are  we  all 
here  present  before  God,  to  hear  all  things  that  arc 
commanded  thee  of  God.'^ 

No  devout  man,  who  has  access  to  the  Bible,  will  fail 
to  become  familiar  with  it.  To  him  it  will  be  emphati- 
cally the  book.  He  will  read  and  study  it  far  more  than 
any  other  book.  He  will  make  ''  the  testimonies  of  the 
Lord  the  men  of  his  counsel.'^  Whenever  he  doubts  or 
inquires  in  regard  to  duty,  his  appeal  will  be  to  "  the 
law  and  to  the  testimony.^'  In  ordinary  circumstances^ 
he  will  suffer  no  day  of  life  to  pass,  without  reading  a 
portion  of  holy  scripture  devoutly.  He  will  treasure  it 
up  largely  in  his  memory ;  and  will  meditate  on  its 
truths  with  great  delight.  They  will  furnish  him  witk 
many  a  mental  repast  in  solitude,  and  in  the  wakeful 
hours  of  night.  He  will  know  experimentally  what  the 
Psalmist  meant,  when  he  said  of  these  truths,  '*  they  are 
sweeter  than  honey  and  the  honey  comb.'^  He  will 
taste  no  pleasure  superior  to  that  which  he  enjoys^ 
when  the  word  of  God  is  set  home  on  his  heart,  with 
power  and  sweetness,  by  the  Spirit  who  endited  it. 

The  devout  man  may  occasionally  read  the  scriptures 
of  truth  to  observe  the  beauty  and  sublimity  of  their 
composition,  or  with  a  view  to  decide  points  of  contro- 
versy. But  he  will  oftener — far  oftener — read  them 
with  all  his  attention  engrossed  to  know  the  will  of  God, 
that  he  may  do  it ;  that  he  may  apply  what  he  reads  to 
practice  5  that  his  temper  and  conduct  may  be  improv- 


^  DISCOURSE  IX.  235 

0(1  and  governed  by  it;  thv^t  his  devotion  may  be  en- 
kindled, and  his  afTections  be  sanctified.  Hence,  with 
an  honest  and  earnest  desii'e,  lie  will  seek  to  know  the 
real  *•  mind  of  the  Spirit,''  in  every  part  of  his  holy 
word.  Every  part  he  will  esteem  precious ;  and  by 
comparing  one  part  with  another,  and  combining  the 
%vhole,  he  will  become  a  consistent,  exemplary,  bible 
christian. 

The  devout  man  will,  also,  be  a  diligent  and  serious 
attendant  on  the  preachtd  word.  Knowing  that  ^'  f^Jth 
Cometh  by  hearing,"  and  that  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel is  a  divine  ordinance,  he  will  never  absent  himself 
from  it  for  a  trivial  cause  ;  never  because  he  thinks 
himself  already  better  instructed  than  those  who  occupy 
the  sacred  desk ;  never  on  the  pretence  that  he  can 
read  a  better  sermon  at  home,  than  he  can  hear  at 
church.  He  knows  that  without  the  divine  blessing, 
means  apparently  the  best  adapted  to  do  good,  will  never 
produce  that  effect ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  that  with  tlie 
divine  blessing,  means  which  appear  very  imperfect  or 
defective,  will  be  completely  efiicacious  ;  and  that  w hen 
men  attempt  to  supercede  an  appointment  of  God  by  a 
device  of  their  own,  they  have  no  reason  to  look  for  his 
blessing,  but  rather  to  expect  his  frowns.  Nothings 
therefore,  but  causes  not  to  be  controlled,  will  prevent 
the  regular  attendi.uc^  of  tlie  devout  man  on  the  preach- 
ed word.  And  when  he  hears  it,  his  attention  will  not 
be  occupied  in  criticising  the  speaker;  nor  in  marking 
how  fitly  the  discourse  may  apply  to  others  5    but  in  en 


336  DISCOURSE  IX. 

deavouring  to  obtain  spiritual  edification  for  himself. 
This  is  his  great  object,  and  if  he  misses  this,  he  can- 
not be  satisfied.  The  preaching  that  is  not  calculated 
to  give  him  this,  he  can  never  approve.  He  could  not 
approve  it,  though  it  should  exhibit  the  imagination  of 
Milton,  the  reasoning  of  Locke,  the  learning  of  Cud- 
worth,  or  the  eloquence  of  Gabriel.  He  can  take  noth- 
ing as  a  substitute  for  the  food  of  his  soul.  And  what 
he  desires  and  seeks  he  often  finds.  He  is  often  fed  and 
refreshed  from  the  provisions  of  God's  house.  In  the 
strength  of  what  he  there  receives,  in  a  single  atten- 
dance, he  sometimes  goes  forward  with  alacrity,  for  ma- 
ny days,  in  his  christian  course.  He  both  rememberg 
and  anticipates  sanctuary  seasons,  as  among  the  most 
profitable  and  delightful  portions  of  his  earthly  exis- 
tence. On  sacramental  occasions,  in  particular,  not  only 
the  sweet  and  heavenly  communion  which  he  holds 
with  his  dear  and  adored  Saviour,  at  his  own  table,  but 
the  precious  truths  of  his  gospel,  illustrated  and  enforc- 
ed at  the  time,  and  deeply  impressed  by  the  solemnities 
of  that  sacred  scene,  produce  a  most  lasting  and  saluta- 
ry influence  on  his  heart  and  life.  In  a  word,  by  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  and  its  accompanying  ordinan- 
ces, he  is  instructed,  edified,  warned,  reproved,  direct- 
ed, humbled,  encouraged,  comforted,  animated  and 
quickened,  as  his  various  circumstances  and  exigences 
may  demand. 

4.  A  devout  man  will  always  be  a  man  of  family  re* 
iigion.      Cornelius  was  <<  one  that  feared  God  with  all 


DISCOURSE  IX.  237 

his  house."  He  was  not  only  devout  himself,  but  he 
was  desirous  that  all  who  were  about  hiin  should  be  of 
the  same  character.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  he  had 
^'  a  devout  sohlier,  who  waited  on  him  continually,"'  and 
whom  he  could  trust  with  his  confiJentiul  message  to 
Peter.  Nay,  he  was  willing  and  desirous  that  his  house 
should  be  a  place  of  meeting  for  religious  exercises  ;  for 
we  are  told  that  when  the  apostle  came,  '*  he  went  in 
and  found  many  that  were  come  together."  And  a  most 
happy  meeting  it  was ;  fjr  it  was  here  that,  ^'  while  Pe- 
ter yet  spake,  the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them  which 
heard  the  word."  How  often,  since  the  days  of  Corne- 
lius, have  associations  of  devout  christians  found  their 
Saviour's  promise  fulfilled — ''  where  two  or  three  arc 
gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst 
of  them." !  Every  devout  man  will  love  to  live  and 
breathe,  as  much  as  he  can,  in  an  atmosphere  of  piety. 
His  religion  is  social  and  benevolent ;  and  it  will  be 
among  his  highest  gratifications  to  see  many  sharing 
with  him  in  thebenefits  of  redemption^  and  the  plea- 
sures of  a  holy  life. 

On  his  family  he  can  never  look,  but  with  the  tender- 
est  concern  for  every  individual,  who,  he  has  reason  to 
fear,  is  yet  in  an  unrenewed  state ;  and  for  his  off- 
spring he  will  ^^  travail  in  birth  again,  until  Christ  be 
formed  in  them."  Like  Abraham,  he  will  "command 
his  children  and  his  household  after  him,  that  tliey  keep 
the  way  of  the  Lord."  Like  Joshua,  he  will  say — "  as 
for  me  and  my  house  we  will  serve  the  Lord."    He  will 


238  DISCOURSE  IX. 

carefully^  tenderly  and  perseveringly  instruct,  converse 
and  pray  with  his  children  and  servants ;  and  labour, 
by  every  proper  method^  to  win  them  to  the  paths  of 
piety  and  peace.  He  will,  when  the  occasion  demands 
it,  mix  authority  and  correction  with  persuasion  and 
tenderness ;  that  he  may  preserve  them  from  vicious 
habits,  and  train  them  up  "  in  the  nurture  and  admo- 
nition of  the  Lord."  He  knows  the  value  of  their 
souls ;  he  feels  responsii)le  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  save 
them  ;  and  he  cannot  be  contented  while  he  sees  them 
in  danger  of  endless  perdition.  My  brethren,  it  is  by 
family  instruction,  family  religion,  and  family  govern- 
ment, that  more  may  be  done  to  serve  the  best  interests 
both  of  the  church  and  of  the  state,  than  by  all  other 
Bieans,  while  these  are  neglected  ;  and  no  truly  devout 
man  can  be  habitually  regardless  of  duties  of  such  high 
importance  and  such  extensive  influence. 

5.  A  devout  man  will,  like  Cornelius,  be  "a  just 
manP  The  duties  of  justice  are  of  the  highest  obliga- 
tion upon  all  men.  And  a  foul  reproach  it  is  to  relig- 
ion, when  men  of  the  world,  who  make  a  righteousness 
of  doing  justly^  can  charge  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ,  as,  alas  !  they  sometimes  truly  may,  with  being 
less  exact  in  discharging  the  demands  of  justice,  than 
themselves.  But  such  a  charge  will  never  lie  against 
a  man  whose  piety  is  both  genuine  and  eminent.  He 
will  be  known  as  a  man  of  strict  honesty  and  honour. 
He  will  ^^  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil,"' and  of 
course  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  disreputable,  oii^ 


DISCOURSE  IX.  239 

even  with  questionable  dealings,  or  transactions.  His 
probity  will  form  a  distinct  and  prominent  feature  of  his 
character  in  the  eye  of  the  world.  His  integrity,  there- 
fore, will  never  be  impeached,  but  by  the  grossest  slan- 
der. He  will  be  punctiliously  careful  to  pay  every  man 
his  due.  He  will  never  take  the  advantage  of  any  one  ; 
never  betray,  or  be  unfaithful  to  a  trust ;  never  be  liti- 
gious or  contentious ;  never  grind  the  poor  ;  never  be 
cruel  or  hard-hearted.  In  all  respects,  he  will  act  up- 
rightly and  conscientiously ;  paying  a  sacred  regard  to 
the  golden  rule  laid  down  by  his  Saviour — ''  All  things 
whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye 
even  so  to  them ;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets.'' 

6.  A  devout  man  will  not  only  be  just,  but,  according 
to  his  ability,  liberal  also,  in  the  distribution  of  his 
worldly  substance.  Of  Cornelius  it  is  particularly  re- 
corded, that  '^  he  gave  much  alms  to  the  people ;"  and 
that  his  "  ahmP  as  well  as  his  ''  prayers^"'  came  up 
"  for  a  memorial"  before  God. 

In  the  New  testament,  covetousness  is  declared  to  be 
idolatry.  It  is  several  times  classed  with  the  most  atro- 
cious and  abominable  vices,  of  the  perpetrators  of  which 
it  is  expressly  declared,  that  '^  they  shall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Yet  the  mournful  fact  must  not  be 
dissembled,  that  there  is  no  inconsiderable  number  of 
professing  christians,  and  some  that  seem  to  be  devout, 
whom  we  cannot  vindicate  from  the  charge  of  manifest 
and  habitual  covetousness.  What  shall  we  think  or  say 
of  such  mea  ?      I  profess^  brethren,  that  I  have  found  it 


240  DISCOURSE  IX. 

more  difficult  to  form  a  favouraMe  judgment  of  these 
men  than  of  almost  any  other  descrijition  of  persons, 
who  have  any  claim  to  be  reckoned  pious.  On  the 
whole,  we  must,  doubtless,  make  some  allowance  for 
natural  temper,  and  some,  also,  for  the  effects  of  long 
and  bad  habits  in  an  unsanctified  state.  Yet,  let  us 
keep  in  mind,  after  all,  not  only  that  any  indication  of 
a  covetous  temper  is  peculiarly  unamiable  and  unbe- 
coming in  a  christian  ;    but  that  he  in  whom  it  prevf^ils 

and   becomes    characteristick let  other   appearances 

be  what  they  may — never  can  be  a  true  disciple  of 
Christ.  In  the  man  who  is  truly  devout  there  will, 
I  think,  be  but  little  temptation  to  this  sin.  The  emi- 
nently devout  and  holy  reformer  Luther,  is  stated  to 
have  said,  that  he  thought  he  had  been  tempted  to  al- 
most every  sin,  except  covetousness ;  but  that  to  this, 
he  had  never  known  a  temptation.  This  seems  to  me 
perfectly  natural.  The  devout  man  is,  in  a  high  de- 
gree, weaned  from  the  world  as  his  portion.  He  lives 
above  and  beyond  it.  His  heart,  and  his  treasure,  and 
his  conversation  are  in  heaven.  He  cannot,  therefore, 
easily  form  an  idolatrous  attachment  to  things  that 
perish  in  the  using;  and,  least  of  all,  to  sordid  pelf. 
Wealth,  if  he  possess  it,  he  will  desire  to  make  subser- 
vient to  the  interests  of  eternity.  That  use  of  worldly 
property,  by  which  his  "  incorruptible  inheritance'^ 
may  be  ensured  or  increased,  or  by  which  others  may 
be  brought  to  possess  the  same,  he  will  consider  as  the 
best  use  to  which  it  can  possibly  be  applied. 


DISCOURSE  IX.  241 

He  will,  moreover,  consider  all  his  possessions  as  the 
gift  of  the  God  of  providence ;  and  himself  as  the  res- 
ponsible steward  of  his  Lord's  bounty.  Hence,  he  will 
feel  a  sacred  obligation  to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  to 
the  utmost  of  his  power,  by  all  that  he  holds  in  trust ; 
and  will  think  himself  entitled  to  no  applause  for  the 
distributions  which  he  makes.  He  will,  from  the  same 
principle,  not  think  himself  permitted  to  scatter  his 
donations  with  a  careless  profusion,  or  an  indiscriminate 
liberality  ;  but  to  make  them  with  discretion  and  care, 
that  they  may  be  productive  of  the  greatest  good  of 
which  they  are  capable. 

In  as  much,  also,  as  a  devout  man  is  a  man  of  humane 
feelings,  and  of  ardent  and  expansive  benevolence,  he 
cannot,  see  "  his  poor  brother  have  need,  and  shut  up 
his  bowels  of  compassion  from  him  ;"  nor  see  how  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  immortal  beings  like  himself, 
may  be  essentially  benefited,  both  in  their  bodies  and 
their  souls,  by  a  part  of  his  property,  and  not  contribute 
for  this  purpose,  to  the  very  utmost  of  his  ability.  His 
inquiry  will  be,  not  how  Little  will  suffice  for  him  to  do, 
but  how  nmch  he  may  Imvfully  do,  in  consistency  with 
other  obligations.  His  heart  and  his  delight  is  in  doing 
good ;  and  he  has  infinitely  more  pleasure  in  his  acts  of 
beneficence,  than  a  miser  ever  enjoyed  in  hoarding  his 
wealth.  The  detail  of  his  alms  deeds,  and  of  his  other 
eharities;  I  shall  not  attempt  to  give.     He  will  consider 


12 


24%  DISCOURSE  IX. 

the  relative  importance  of  every  claim  on  his  liberali- 
ty^ and  will  answer  to  each,  according  to  a  conscientious 
estimate  of  its  magnitude  and  moment. 

7.  Finally — A  devout  man  will  be  a  man  of  good  re- 
port.    Such  was  he  whom  our  text  commends.     He  was 
"  of  good  report  among  all  the  nation  of  the  Jews.'' 

You  will  not  understand  me  here^  as  affirming  that  a 
devout  man  will  never  suffer  from  evil  tongues.  The 
venom  of  such  tongues  is  often  directed  against  the 
fairest  characters.  The  best  men  that  have  ever  lived, 
have  been  misrepresented  and  vilified.  Nay^  the  spot- 
less life  of  our  Redeemer  himself,  did  not  exempt  him 
from  the  vilest  imputations  and  slanders.  But  truth  is 
mighty  in  its  influence,  and  will  at  length  prevail  over 
falsehood  and  malignity.  In  a  diffusive  publick,  there 
is  a  love  of  truth  and  impartiality,  which  will  ultimate- 
ly do  justice  to  innocence  and  integrity ;  so  that  a  good 
man  will,  eventually^  be  of  good  report.  Those  who 
know  him  best,  will  always  esteem  and  love  him  most.. 
Inquiry,  provoked  by  malignity  itself,  will  serve  to  ex- 
tend the  knowledge  of  his  real  character.  Thus,  he 
will  live  doW'U  the  lies  and  misrepresentations  which 
did  him  a  temporary  injury  ;  and  his  future  reputation 
will  become  less  vulnerable  from  all  the  attacks  that 
have  been  made  upon  it. 

Now,  a  devout  man  is,  by  our  supposition,  eminently 
a  good  man,  a  conscientious  man,  a  just  man,  a  liberal 
man.  An  evil  report  will  not  readily  be  credited  to  the 
disadvantage  of  such  a  man.  At  a  distance,  indeed,  his 
character  m<iy  suffer  for  a  short  time,  but  it  wall,  in  the 


DISCOtJRSE  IX.  243 

end,  in  spite  of  all  the  endeavours  of  the  wicked  to  tar- 
nish it,  come  forth  like  gold  that  has  passed  the  fire. 
The  God  of  providence  is  on  the  side  of  the  devout 
man ;  and  will  '^  bring  fortli  his  righteousness  as  the 
light,  and  his  judgment  as  the  noon  day."  If  he  live 
long,  his  worth  will  often  be  widely  known  and  acknowl- 
edged. Sometimes  a  whole  nation,  as  in  the  case  of 
Cornelius,  will  speak  his  praise ;  and  distant  genera- 
tions be  taught  to  admire  and  imitate  his  virtues — *''The 
memory  of  the  just  is  blessed.'^ 

Having  now  finished  the  delineation  of  the  character 
of  a  devout  man,  let  me  remind  you  of  what  I  have  al- 
ready intimated,  that  my  design  in  doing  it  has  been  to 
hold  up  this  character  as  worthy  of  general  imitation;  as 
an  exemplar  which  every  one  of  us  ought  to  copy  after. 
But  to  this  application  of  what  has  been  said  I  foresee  an 
objection ;  an  objection,  not  from  those  who  directly  and 
openly  deny  the  excellence  of  the  character  itself;  for  to 
these  I  make  no  reply  at  present — The  objection  I  an- 
ticipate will  come  from  those  who  will  admit,  at  least  in 
words,  that  the  character  which  has  been  exhibited  is 
one  of  great  excellence,  and  that  it  were  well,  perhaps^ 
if  the  world  could  be  peopled  with  those  who  possess  it. 
But  they  will  object  that  the  character  is  rather  ideal  than 
real  ;  that  its  colouring  is  far  beyond  the  life  ;  that  men 
deeply  engaged  in  the  business  and  cares  of  the  world, 
cannot  be  as  devout  as  the  representation  given  requires 
them  to  be  :  that,  in  a  word,  the  character  exhibited  is 
out  of  nature  ;  and  that  to  busy  men,  especially,  the  in*- 


244  DISCOURSE  IX. 

itation  of  it  is  not  practicable.  I  wish  to  state  the  ob- 
jection in  all  its  strength  ;  and  so  stated,  I  admit  that  it 
is  specious.  But  that  it  is  only  specious,  I  shall  hope  to 
satisfy  you,  if  you  will  lend  me  your  candid  and  serious 
attention. 

Let  it  be  carefully  considered,  then,  \vhether  the  rep- 
resentation which  has  been  given  is  not  scriptural.      If 
it  be,   it  raust  be  received  as  just,   and  the  duties   to 
which  it  points    must  be   viewed  as   obligatory.       We 
must  be  careful  not  to  losver  the  standard  of  duty,  be- 
cause  it   transcends   our    practice   or   our   inclination. 
Practice  and  inclination  in  that  case  should  be  raised  to 
the  standard,  and  not  the  standard  be  brought  down  to 
them.     Now,  let  it  be  recollected  that,  in  the  represen- 
tation given,  the  character  of  Cornelius,  as  set  forth  in 
the  text  and  context,  has  been  distinctly  referred  to,  as 
affording  a  warrant  for  each  particular  we  have  gone 
over,  except  the  first ;    and  that  no  more  was  asserted 
there,  than  what  is  true  of  every  good  man,  and  there- 
fore must  be  true  of  him  who  is  devout :    and  that  in  all 
the  enlargments  and  illustrations,  under  the  several  par- 
ticulars, the  statements  made  have  commonly  been  con- 
firmed by  plain  passages  of  scripture,  and  have  invaria- 
bly, §.s  far  as  I  can  judge,  accorded  with  its  scope  and 
spirit.     The  speaker  verily  believes,  that  not  one  lead- 
ing sentiment  has  been  delivered,  which  might  not  be 
shown  to  be  clearly  supported   and  sanctioned  by  the 
authority  of  holy  writ.     If,  then,  what  has  been  said  be 
scriptural;  and  the  scripture  bc;  as  it  certainly  is,  our 


DISCOtmSE  IX.  245 

standard  of  truth  and  duty,  let  us  remember  that  every 
truth,  and  every  duty,  is  consistent  with  every  other 
trutli,  and  every  other  duty.  Falsehoods  and  vices  of- 
ten clash,  but  truths  and  duties  never  do.  The  inclina- 
tion or  practice,  therefore,  which  keeps  any  man  from 
being  as  devout  as  a  scriptural  statement  requires  him 
to  be,  must  be  wrong,  and  ought  to  be  corrected,  instead 
of  being  made  the  ground  of  a  complaint  that  the  state- 
ment itself  is  extravagant  or  unnatural. 

The  devout  man  has  not  been  represented  as  perfect, 
or  sinless.  This  he  certainly  never  is ;  and  there  is  no 
man  who,  so  much  as  he,  feels,  confesses  and  bewails 
his  imperfections.  Nor  lias  his  life  been  represented  as 
an  uninterrupted  succession  of  pleasurable  exercises,  or 
of  holy  joy.  It  is  entirely  consistent  witluall  that  has 
been  said  to  admit — and  I  explicitely  admit — that  he  may 
be  acquainted  with  spiritual  conflicts,  and  sometimes 
with  a  degree  of  dejection  and  fear.  My  subject  and 
design  required  tliat  I  should  describe  the  prevailing 
temper,  the  general  character,  and  the  leading  duties 
which  a  devout  man  will  always  exemplify;  and  to  exhib- 
it these,  not  in  the  lowest  degree  in  which  it  is  possii)le 
for  them  to  exist,  but  in  as  high  a  degree  as  that  in  which 
they  may  actually  and  frequently  be  found.  Repeatedly 
have  you  been  reminded  that  we  were  considering  the 
character  of  one  eminently  pious.  It  is  doubtless  true, 
and  important  to  be  remembered,  that  genuine  piety  ad- 
mits of  many  gradations  ;  and  that  there  may  be  a  mea- 
sure of  true  devoutncs^,  in  those  who  are  sadly  defective 


346  DISCOURSE  IX. 

in  some  lineaments  of  the  character  which  has  been 
portrayed.  But^  christian  brethren,  we  ought  to  be 
very  careful  not  to  suffer  this,  or  any  similar  concession,- 
to  render  us  content  with  our  imperfections.  Let  us  ev- 
er keep  in  mind  that  the  man  who  wishes  for  no  more 
religion,  than  exactly  the  lowest  measure  that  will 
carry  him  to  heaven,  has,  within  himself,  unequivocal 
evidence  that  he  possesses  no  true  religion  at  all.  He 
manifestly  views  it  as  a  sick  man  views  a  nauseous  med- 
icine ;  which  he  consents  to  take  that  it  may  preserve 
his  life,  but  of  which  he  desires  to  take  not  a  particle 
more  than  is  necessary  to  his  safety.  The  man  of  real 
piety  loves  religion  for  its  own  sake.  He  who  has  "  tas- 
ted that  the  Lord  is  gracious,"  always  desires  to  drink 
deeply  of  the  "  cup  of  salvation,'' — to  partake  largely 
ef  "  the  water  of  life."  He  is  humbled  while  he  con- 
templates his  numerous  short  comings,  and  covets  ear- 
nestly the  attainments  of  those  whose  piety  appears  to 
be  of  a  higher  order  than  his  own.  He  looks  at  their 
example  with  a  holy  emulation,  and  loves  to  dwell  upon 
it,  as  an  excitement  and  encouragement  to  himself,  to 
press  towards  a  higlier  mark. 

But,  with  reference  to  the  point  now  in  discussion,  facts 
probably  will  be  considered  as  more  decisive  than  argu- 
ments. To  facts,  then,  the  appeal  is  confidently  made, 
that  the  character  which  has  been  set  before  you,  taken 
in  its  full  extent,  was  not  only  the  character  of  Corne- 
lius, and  of  other  saints  of  whom  the  scripture  gives  us 
an  account,  but  that  it  has  often  been  realized  in  mod- 


DISCOURSE  IX.  ^47 

cm  times — realized  not  only  in  ministers  of  the  gospel, 
and  in  men  of  leisure  and  seclusion  from  the  world  ;  but 
in  men  whose  professions  or  occupations  were  as  little 
favourable  to  fervent  and  habitual  devotion,  as  any  em- 
ployments can  be,  which  are  in  themselves  lawful :    and 
in  regard  to  whom  it  is  also  true,  that  they  were  as  in- 
dustrious, and  as  successful,  in  their  several  pursuits,  as 
those  who   paid  no  regard  to  religion.      Who,   I  ask, 
was  a  more  eminent  or  occupied  lawyer  than  Hale? 
Who  was  a  more  busy  or  a  more   distinguished   physi- 
cian than  Boerhaave?  Who  was  more  incessantly  devot- 
ed to  science  then  Boyle  ?    Who  was   a  more   wealthy 
and  extensive  merchant  than  Thornton  ?  Who  was  a  bet- 
ter soldier  than  Gardiner  ?    Who  was  ever  more  unfa- 
vourably situated  for  devotion  than  Meikle  ?    Yet  these 
were  all  eminently  devout  men.       And  were  it  proper 
for  me  to  name  the  living  as  well  as  the  dead,  I  could, 
blessed  be  God,  point  you  to  busy  men,  in  whom  the 
character  in  all  its  parts  is,  at  this  moment,  exemplified. 
Ah!  my  brethren,  we  want  nothing  but  a  right  hearty  to 
make  it  practicable,  and  pleasant  too,  to  be  devout,  in 
any  business  or  situation  of  life  wliich  is  consistent  with 
our    christian    character.      The  business  or   situation 
which  really   precludes,   or  habitually  interferes,    with 
devotion,  is  unlawful  in   itself,  and  ought  immediately  to 
be  abandoned. 

But  it  is  only  a  few,  after  all,  who  can  offer  even  a 
plausible  pretence  that  their  necessary  business  is  more 
Unfavourable  to   a  devout  life,  than   worldly   concerns 


24§  DISCOURSE  IX. 

always  are.  You  whom  I  now  address,  have  surely  no 
ground  for  such  a  plea :  and  the  mass  of  mankind  have, 
clearly,  no  special  hindrance  to  a  holy  intercourse  with 
the  Father  of  their  spirits,  hut  that  reluctance  to  the 
duty  which  they  carry  in  their  own  bosoms.  Here,  in- 
deed, is  the  true  source  of  the  objection  to  which  I  have 
been  replying,  whenever  it  is  made  to  bear  on  practice. 
As  a  point  of  speculation,  or  as  a  matter  of  temptation, 
it  may  occur  to  any  one.  But  as  a  satisfying  reason,  a 
reason  to  be  deliberately  acted  on,  for  not  being  devout, 
I  truly  believe  it  is  pleaded  only  by  those  who,  in  seek- 
ing for  an  excuse,  find,  or  rather  fabricate  it,  here.  My 
dear  brethren,  it  is  in  this  very  point — and  the  truth 
ought  to  be  plainly  stated — that  the  characteristick  dif- 
ference is  found,  between  those  who  are  born  of  God, 
and  those  who  are  not.  The  children  of  God  love  devo- 
tion, and  they  who  are  yet  alienated  from  Him  never 
love  it.  Unsanctified  men  never  love  "  to  draw  nigh 
unto  God  ;''  and  hence  they  always  find  devout  exercises 
inherently  and  irreconcilably  offensive.  They  may  love 
speculations  on  religion,  they  may  learnedly  advocate 
its  divine  origin,  they  may  defend  all  its  outworks,  they 
may  be  criticks  in  the  languages  of  the  sacred  volume, 
they  may  understand  its  doctrines,  they^may  attend  on 
all  the  ordinances  of  the  church,  they  may  contribute  to 
its  support,  they  may  zealously  contend  for  forms — in  a 
word,  whatever  is  externaU  or  merelv  intellectual  in  re- 
ligion,  may  be  tolerable,  and  even  pleasing  to  them. 
But  from  their  heart  a7id  affections  religion  is  completely 


DISCOURSE  IX.  249 

excluded ;  And  as  these  are  essential  to  devout  exerci- 
ses, such  exercises  are  always,  to  uiisanetified  men,  the 
object  of  irreconcilable  aversion.  Hence  it  was  neces- 
sary to  show,  at  the  very  entrance  of  this  subject,  that 
a  devout  man  must  be  renewed  in  the  temper  of  his 
mind,  as  the  ground  work  of  all  that  is  to  constitute  and 
complete  his  character. 

It  appears,  then,  that  if  we  possess  true  piety,  we 
not  only  may^  but  that,  in  some  good  degree,  we  must  be 
devout.  Yes,  let  it  sink  down  into  every  heart,  that  he 
who  has  not  a  devout  religion,  has  no  genuine  religion. 
He  dislikes  communion  with  God ;  and  heaven  itself,  if 
he  could  be  admitted  there,  would  be  found  a  place  of 
no  enjoyment  to  him.  A  devout  spirit  is  essential  to 
capacitate  or  qualify  us  for  a  participation  in  the  exer- 
cises and  employments  of  the  kingdom  of  God  above. 
And  the  more  that  any  man  possesses  of  this  spirit  while 
he  dwells  on  earth,  the  more  ripe  has  he  become  for 
heaven ;  and  the  more  of  its  pleasures  will  he  antici- 
pate, before  he  rises  to  the  mansions  of  the  just. 

Among  the  many  considerations,  brethren,  which 
urge  us  to  the  cultivation  of  a  devout  spirit,  that  which 
I  have  last  suggested  is  certainly  one,  which  may  and 
ought  to  have  much  influence.  He,  unquestionablv, 
who  shall  possess  the  most  of  this  spirit,  will  be  the 
happiest  christian.  It  will  render  all  his  duties  easy 
and  pleasant,  it  will  alleviate  all  his  afflictions,  it  will 
render  him  almost  a  stranger  to  fear,  it  will  give  him 
contentment  with  his  lot,  it  will  fill  him  with  divine 

K  2 


250  DISCOURSE  IX. 

consolations,  and  will  often  constrain  him  to  say  with 
the  apostle,  ^'  I  have  a  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with 
Christ,  which  is  far  better.'^ 

But  usefulness  J  as  well  as  happiness,  will  be  increas- 
ed, in  proportion  as  a  spirit  of  true  devotion  is  aug- 
mented. Not  only  will  the  possessor  of  this  spirit 
adorn  and  recommend  religion,  by  the  character  which 
you  have  heard  described,  and  strive  to  promote  it  by 
all  those  exertions  for  its  direct  advancement  which 
©onstitute  a  part  of  that  character,  but  the  prayers  of 
devout  men  have  a  mighty  efRcacy — a  mighty  efficacy 
in  heaven — a  mighty  efficacy  in  drawing  down  blessings, 
not  only  on  themselves,  but  on  all  around  them;  yea, 
on  the  cause  of  God  throughout  the  earth.  The  prayers 
and  alms  of  Cornelius  brought  an  angel  from  heaven,  to 
direct  him  where  to  find  the  instruction  which  he  need- 
ed ;  and  in  the  sequel,  the  miraculous  influence  of  the  - 
Holy  Ghost  fell  on  him,  and  on  all  his  friends  who  had 
assembled  at  his  invitation.  Brethren,  we  expect  no 
miracles;  butO!  if  we  had  more  men  like  Cornelius; 
if  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  more  like  him  ;  if 
private  christians  more  resembled  him  ;  if  we  had  more 
of  those  who  wrestle  with  God,  more  who  are  migh- 
ty  in    prayer we   should   certainly   see    the   blessed 

effects  of  their  powerful  and  prevalent  intercession. 
The  Holy  Spirit  would  descend  in  his  saving  influence. 
Revivals  of  pure  religion  would  take  place.  Our  houses 
would  become  Bethels;  our  children  would  become  pil- 
lars in  the  church  of  the  living  God ;    our  schools  and 


BISCOURSE  IX.  251 

colleges  would  become  nurseries  of  piety,  as  well  as  of 
science  ;  and  means  and  instruments  would  he  furnished 
for  evangelizing  the  world.  Yes — devout  men  are  pre- 
cisely those  who  must  evangelize  the  world.  Their 
alms  must  furnish  the  necessary  funds,  and  their  pray- 
ers must  draw  down  the  blessing  of  God  on  missions  to 
the  heathen,  the  Mahometans  and  the  Jews.  Here,  at 
this  moment,  is  the  great  want.  We  want  more  devout 
men  ;  and  till  we  have  them,  the  gospel  will  not  obtain 
its  most  rapid  and  wide  extention.  Let  every  chris- 
tian be  sensible  of  this  ;  and  as  he  values  his  own  hap- 
piness; as  he  desires  the  salvation  of  immortal  souls; 
and  above  all,  as  he  would  most  extensively  promote  the 
declarative  glory  of  his  God  and  Saviour,  let  him  as- 
pire to  more  eminence  in  the  character  of  a  devout 
man. 

In  conclusion,  I  particularly  call  upon  you,  my  young 
friends,  to  remember  that  you  are  now  in  the  period  of 
life  most  favourable  to  the  formation  of  this  truly 
excellent  and  sublime  character.  Listen  to  the  obser- 
vations of  one  of  my  venerable  predecessors  in  office, 
distinguished  for  his  profound  knowledge  of  human  na- 
ture, and  accurate  observation  of  mankind.  '^  Suffer 
me — said  Doctor  Witherspoon,  in  addressing  a  class  of 
youth  in  this  college,  as  I  now  address  you — ^'  Suffer 
me,  upon  this  subject,  earnestly  to  recommend  to  all 
that  fear  God,  to  apply  themselves  from  their  earliest 
youthy  to  the  exercises  of  piety,  a  life  of  prayer  and 
communiou  with  God.      This  is  the  source  from  which 


252  DISCOURSE  IX. 

a  real  christian  must  derive  the  secret  comfort  of  his 
heart,  and  which  alone  will  give  beauty,  consistency 
and  uniformity,  to  an  exemplary  life.  The  reason 
why  I  mention  it  on  this  occasion  is,  that  youths  whei> 
the  spirits  are  lively,  and  the  affections  vigorous  and 
strong,  is  the  season  when  this  habit  must  be  formed. 
There  are  advantages  and  disadvantages  attending 
every  stage  of  life.  An  aged  christian  will  naturally 
grow  in  prudence,  vigibnce,  usefulness,  attention  to  the 
course  of  providence,  and  submission  to  the  divine  will  5 
but  he  will  seldom  attain  to  greater  fervor  of  affection, 
and  life  in  divine  worship,  than  he  had  been  accustom- 
ed  to  from  his   eai'ly  years^^ And  is  it  so,  my  dear 

youth,  that  if  you  are  ever  eminently  devout,  you  must 
begin  to  be  so  now?  Must  this  best  of  all  attainments 
be  sooi)  made,  or  the  hope  of  making  it  be  resigned  for- 
ever? I  know  you  ?re  ambitious  to  have  influence  on 
earth.  But  by  being  devout  you  will,  as  you  have  heard, 
have  iufluence  in  heaven.  Here  is  the  highest,  as  well 
as  the  holiest  distinction  of  mortals.  Every  devout 
man,  like  Jacob,  "•'  has  power  with  God.'^  His  prayers 
prevail  where  the  issue  of  battles  is  decided;  where 
kings  receive  their  thrones  or  are  hurled  from  them  ; 
where  the  destinies  of  empires  are  ordered  ;  where  na- 
tions are  blessed  or  cursed ;  yea,  where  salvation  is 
extended  to  immortal  souls — one  of  which  is  of  more 
value  than  the  material  universe,  or  than  all  the  temporal 
felicities  of  man.  O!  if  you  aspire,  aspire  to  do  good; 
aspire  to  be  prevalent  intercessors  before  the  throne  of 


DISCOURSE  IX.  253 

Bod. — Blessed  Spirit  of  all  grace !  breathe,  O  breathe, 
we  humbly  beseech  Thee,  on  these  precious  youth. 
Transtbrm  and  sanctify  every  heart.  Make  every  spi- 
rit here  devout.  Thus  shall  we  be  prepared  to  serve 
God  and  our  generation  most  extensively  on  earth,  and 
then  to  rise  and  join  in  that  perfect  devotion,  which 
saints  and  seraphs,  in  the  temple  above,  offer,  through 

the  ages  of  eternity,  to  the  Father,  to  the  Son,  and  to 
the  Holy  Ghost.     Ameu. 


NOTES 

TO  THE 

PRECEEDING  DISCOURSES. 


NOTE  A— Pfl^e  4. 

AS  it  is  the  current  opinion  of  the  best  criticks  that  the  Greek  frag- 
ment, which  exhibits  the  name  of  St.  Paul  and  purports  to  be  pail 
of  a  lost  work  of  Longinus,  is  genuine  ;  the  author  considered  him- 
self as  much  at  liberty  to  make  the  assertion  to  which  this  note 
refers,  as  if  the  passage  alluded  to  had  been  found  in  the  celebrated 
treatise  on  the  sublime.  In  this  fragment  of  Longinus,  after  naming 
certain  Greek  writers  whose  works  afforded  examples  of  the  su- 
blime in  writing,  he  says — 33-^05  Touro(i  IlxZXo^  0  T«/)c-e«?,  i'v  nvac  c«i 
sr^aTov  <pr,fjLi  'zs-pai^Tecf^evoi  S)tyfJux.ro^  uvxTroS^eiKTov. — "And  further, 
Paul  of  Tarsus,  the  chief  supporter  of  an  opiuion  not  yet  establish- 
ed."    Smith's  translation. 


NOTE  B^Page  13. 

IT  is  known  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  state  of  religioH 
in  this  country,  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  that  a  great 
and  general  attention  to  religion  was,  at  that  time,  excited  in  a  large 
part  of  what  were  then  called  the  British  provinces  of  North  Amer- 
ica. The  population  of  the  whole  intervening  region  between  Mary- 
land and  Massachusetts  Bay,  was,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  aftect- 
cd  by  this  excitement.  The  celebrated  Gkorge  Whitkfield, 
was  chiefly  instrumental  in  producing  the  religious  impressions 
which  were  then  so  extensively  and  generally  felt.      He,  however. 


^^56  NOTES. 

had  many  and  active  friends  and  coadjutors  ;  and  lie  was  also 
opposed  and  censured  by  many  and  bitter  enemies.  The  author 
avows  himself  of  the  number  of  those,  who  believe  that  a  great  and 
glorious  revival  of  religion  then  took  place  ;  the  happy  effects  of 
which,  in  a  measure,  remain  to  the  present  time.  It  is  not  denied, 
however,  and  it  was  admitted  and  deplored  by  the  friends  of  the  re- 
vival while  it  existed,  that  in  many  places  and  in  numerous  instan- 
ces, there  was  much  extravagance  and  delusion.  And  was  it  ever 
otherwise,  among  those  who  had  been  brought  up  in  ignorance  or 
formality,  when  suddenly  and  powerfully  impressed  with  a  sense  of 
their  dangerous  state  and  the  importance  of  their  eternal  concerns  ? 
Here  was,  in  fact,  the  real  cause  of  most  of  the  excesses  and  errors 
which  abounded,  at  the  period  contemplated.  The  proper  remedy 
or  preventive  of  these  evils,  so  far  as  human  efforts  can  remedy  or 
prevent  them,  is  a  well  educated  ministry,  a  competent  number  of 
able  and  pious  pastors,  and  a  general  diffusion  of  religious  knowl- 
edge, and  accurate  doctrinal  instruction,  among  the  people  at  large. 

The  whole  of  the  extraordianry  attention  to  religion,  of  vvhich  the 
ministry  of  Mr.  Whitefield  and  that  of  his  fellow  labourers  had  been 
the    instrumental    cause,  was  often    and  unsparingly    reviled  and 
ridiculed,  by  the  enemies  of  vital  piety.      This,  of  course,  rendered 
them  the  objects  of  deep  abhorrence  by  those  who  were  the  subjects 
of  their  censure  and  sarcasm.      But  a  worse  effect  was,  that  those 
who  most  needed  to  be  instinicted  and  reclaimed  from  error  and 
extravagance,  were  rendered  exceedingly  jealous  of  friends  as  well 
as  enemies  ;    jealous  of  almost  every  man  who  did  not  justify  their 
excesses  ;     jealous  of   him  as  hostile  to  the  whole  revival,  and  to 
v/hat  they  considered  as  the  special  work  of  the  Divine  Spirit.      It 
was  happy  for  the  American  church,  at  this  time,  that  she  possessed 
such  men  as  Dickinson  and  Edwards.       These  men  were  well  and 
widely  known  for  their  exemplary  holiness  of  life  ;  and  as  the  advo- 
cates of  orthodox  principles  and  vital  godliness.      They  were,  like- 
wise, known  to  be  the  friends  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  promoters  of  the  re- 
vival of  religion,  and  vindicators  of  it,  so  far  as  it  did  not  exceed  what 
reason  and  revelation  would  justify.     Their  acknowledged  talents, 
also,  gave  great  weight  to  their  opinions.     They  both  came  forward, 
most  opportunely,  and  ultimately  with  great  effect,  to  correct  the 
errors  and  enthusiasm  which  attended  the  revival ;    while  they  de- 
fended it  generally,  against  the  attacks  of  its  adversaries.      What 
was  written  by  president  Edwards,  from  his  eminence  as  an  author, 
and  from  being  printed  with  his  other  works,  is  pretty  fully  and  exten- 
sively known.     This  is  not  the  case  with  the  production  of  president 
Dickinson,  on  the  same  subject  ;  although  no  contemporaueous  pub- 


NOTES.  257 

lication  was  probably  as  much  read  or  had  as  much  influence.  It  is 
the  second  edition  of  this  excellent  tract  which  now  lies  before  the 
writer,  and  which  bears  the  following  extended  title — 

"  A  DISPLAY  OF  GOD'S  SPECIAL  GRACE, 

IN 

A  FAMILIAR  DIALOGUE, 

BETWEEN 
A  MINISTER  AND  A  GENTLEMAN  OF  HIS  CONGREGATION, 

ABOUT 

The  WORK  of  God  in  the  conviction  and  conversion  of  sinners,  so 
remarkably  of  late  begun  and  going  on  in  these  American  parts. 

WHEREIN 

The  objections  against  some  uncommon  afifiearances  among  us 
are  distinctly  considered. 

Mistakes  rectified,  and  the  work  itself  particularly  proved  to  be 
from  the  Holy  Spirit. 

WITH 

An  ADDITION,  in  a  second  conference,  relating  to  sundry  AntinQ" 
mian  principles,  begining  to  obtain  in  some  places. 


By  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  Minister  of  the  Gospel  at 
Elizabeth-Town  in  New-Jersey. 

Philadelphia,  printed  and  sold  by  William  Bradford  at  the 
sign  of  the  Bible  in  Second-street y  1743.'* 

It  appears  that  the  pamphlet,  the  purport  of  which  is  stated  in 
the  preceeding  title  page,  was,  at  first,  published  without  the  name 
of  the  author.  The  reason  for  this  we  are  not  told.  But  it  appears 
to  have  occasioned  an  attestation  to  the  excellence  of  the  publica- 
tion, from  the  ministers  of  the  town  of  Boston,  which  will  be  given 
at  length.  The  second  edition,  after  the  author  of  the  pamphlet 
•was  known,  was,  in  addition  to  what  had  been  said  by  the  ministers 
of  Boston,  accompanied  by  an  attestation  from  a  number  of  Mr. 
Dickinson's  fellow  presbyters.  From  this  latter  attestation,  as  it 
is  in  substance  the  same  as  the  other,  a  few  extracts  only  will  be 
given. 

L3 


258  NOTES. 

It  has  been  with  mingled  emotions  of  pleasure  and  regret,  that  the 
writer  has  read  these  attestations,  and  looked  back  to  the  period  at 
which  they  were  published.  Retaining  himself  the  sentiments  of 
those  eminent  and  venerable  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  and 
fathers  of  the  American  churches,  whose  names  are  subscribed,  he 
has  contemplated  with  delight  the  agreement  in  views  and  opinion, 
which  then  existed  among  so  many  of  the  leading  men  in  the  church, 
in  the  Eastern  and  Western  parts  of  our  country.  With  deep  re- 
gret he  has  contemplated  the  change,  which  has  since  taken  place- 
But  believing  that  it  will  give  pleasure  to  some  who  may  chance  to 
¥ead  this  note,  to  see  the  harmony  which  then  prevailed,  as  well  as 
to  observe  the  estimation  in  which  one  of  the  publications  of  the  first 
president  of  New- Jersey  college  was  held  ;  and  that  it  will  also  ex- 
hibit a  state  of  facts  of  some  importance  in  the  religious  history  of 
our  country,  and  of  some  bearing  on  the  history  of  the  college  ;  he 
has  resolved  to  republish  what  he  has  already  mentioned.  Imme- 
diately succeeding  the  title  page,  which  has  been  quoted,  is  the 
following 

"  ATTESTATION." 

He  must  be  a  stranger  in  Israel^  who  has  not  heard  of  the  uncom- 
mon religious  appearances  in  several  parts  of  this  land,  among  per- 
sons of  all  ages  and  characters. 

This  is  an  affair  which  has  in  some  degree  drawn  every  one's 
attention,  and  been  the  subject  of  much  debate  both  in  conversation 
and  writing.  And  the  grand  question  is,  nvhether  it  be  a  nvork  of 
God.,  ajid  hoTJ  far  it  is  so  ?  The  most  serious  and  judicious,  both 
ministers  and  christians,  have  looked  upon  it  to  be  in  the  maiji^  a 
genuine  work  of  GOD,  and  the  effect  of  that  effusion  of  the  Spirit 
of  GracCy  which  the  faithful  have  been  praying,  hoping,  longing  and 
waiting  for ;  while  at  the  same  time  they  have  looked  upon  some 
circumstances  attending  it,  to  be  from  natural  temper,  human  weak- 
ness, or  the  subtility  and  malice  of  Satan  permitted  to  counteract 
this  divine  operation. 

But  here  rightly  to  distinguish  is  a  matter  of  no  small  difficulty  ; 
and  requires  both  a  scriptural  knowledge  of,  and  an  experimental 
acquaintance  with,  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Mr.  Edward'' s  discourse  concerning  the  distinguishing  marks  of  a 
ivork  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  has  met  with  deserved  acceptance,  and 
been  of  great  use. — The  following  performance,  by  another  dear  and 
Reverend  brother,  in  a  different  part  of  the  country,  is  also  in  our 
opinion,  exceeding  well  adapted  to  serve  the  same  design,  viz.  to 
help  people  to  judge  of  the  present  work,  ivhethcr  and  how  far  it  is 


NOTES.  259 

of  God ;  and  to  remove  those  prejudices,  which  may  keep  them 
from  owning  it  to  the  honour  of  God,  and  from  coming  under  the 
power  of  it  to  their  own  salvation. 

Here  the  reader  will  see  the  ordinary  works  of  the  Spirit  of 
Grace,  in  applying  the  redemption  purchased  by  Christ  to  particu- 
lar souls  judiciously  described,  in  several  distinct  parts  of  it  convic- 
(ioriy  conversion^  and  consolation  :  The  necessity  of  regeneration  and 
faith  in  order  to  final  salvation,  and  the  necessity  of  conviction  and 
humiliation,  in  order  to  these  clearly  evinced,  from  the  reason  and 
nature  of  the  thing,  as  well  as  the  method  God  has  established  in 
liis  word:  mistakes,  which  might  prove  fatal  and  undoing,  carefully- 
guarded  against :  And  very  safe  and  suitable  directions  given  to  one 
•who  is  awakened  to  that  enquiry,  What  must  J  do  to  be  saved  ? 

Whoever  takes  nfi  this  book  and  reads,  has  as  it  were  in  his  hands 
a  glass,  in  which  he  may  behold  what  manner  of  person  he  is  / 
whether  a  natural  or  renewed  man,  a  hy^pocrite  or  a  sound  believer. 

The  form  in  which  it  appears,  is  Dialogistical ;  in  the  manner  of 
a  conversation  carried  on  by  persons  under  borrowed  names ;  which 
makes  it  not  the  less  pleasant,  entertaining  and  instmctive.  It  is  a 
method  the  best  suited  of  any  to  answer  the  design :  for  this  way  of 
instruction  is  the  most  easy  and  familiar ;  engages  the  attcr.tion 
more  closely,  strikes  the  mind  more  directly,  and  gets  the  nearest 
access  to  conscience,  which  the  reader  will  easily  discern  to  be  the 
special  aim  of  the  author  ;  whose  name  would  have  been  a  sufficient 
recommendation  of  the  work  had  he  thought  it  proper  to  have 
prefixed  it  to  a  performance  of  this  kind. 

But  in  the  want  of  that,  so  many  of  us  as  have  had  the  pleasure  to 
read  it  in  manuscrijit,  do  with  freedom  and  satisfaction  recommend 
it  to  those  into  whose  hands  it  may  come,  and  them  to  the  blessed 
influences  of  the  Divinf.  Spirit  in  the  reading  of  it.  And  if  partic- 
ular persons  while  they  are  reading  it,  would  as  it  were  place  them' 
selves  in  the  room,  of  the  enquirer  in  the  conversation  thus  repre- 
sented, with  an  ojien  mind  and  a  serious  disposition,  the  important 
things  which  are  the  subject  of  it,  might  by  the  blessing  of  Christ, 
be  brought  so  close  and  home  to  them,  as  to  put  them  into  something 
of  a  like  frame  with  that  which  the  two  Disciples  were  in,  while  they 
conversed  with  the  risen  Saviour  in  their  way  to  Emmaus,  who 
said  afterwards  one  to  another.  Did  not  our  Hearts  buim  within  U9 
by  the  way,  and  while  he  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures  ? 

And  in  recommending  this  book  to  the  world,  we  would  be  under- 
stood as  o^y/n//^  and  hearing  a  publick  testimony  to  what  is  called 
the  present  work  of  God  in  this  la^d,  as  it  is  here  stated  and  distin- 
guished (separate  from  those  disorders,  errors,  and  delusions,  wliich 


260  NOTES. 

are  only  the  unhappy  accidents  sometimes  accompanying  of  it)  to  be 
such  a  glorious  display  of  the  divine  power  and  grace,  as  may  well 
raise  our  wonder,  excite  our  praises,  and  engage  our  prayers,  for  the 
preservation  and  progress  of  it. 

May  the  children  of  God  then  unite  in  the  prayer.  Let  thy  work 
apfiear  more  and  more  unto  thy  servants,  and  thy  glory  unto  their 
children  ;  And  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  be  ufion  us  I 
Boston,  August  10th,  1742, 

BENJAMIN  COLEMAN. 

JOSEPH  SEWALL. 

THOMAS  PRINCE. 

JOHN  WEBB. 

WILLIAM  COOPER. 

THOMAS  FOXCROFT. 

JOSHUA  GEE. 
The  extracts  from  the  other  recommendation,  are  as  follow — 

"  A  PREFATORY  ATTESTATION. 
We  whose  names  are  under  written,  with  pleasure  embrace  the 
present  occasion,  to  give  a  joint  and  publick  testimony  to  the  reality 
and  truth  of  the  late  revival  of  religion  in  this  land  ;  or  what  is  cal- 
led generally  and  justly  the  work  of  God. 

If  any  should  enquire  what  we  mean  by  the  work  of  God  ?  we 
think  the  judicious  author  of  the  following  dialogue,  has  given  a 
plain  and  pertinent  answer  to  this  enquiry,  which  we  declare  our 
approbation  of,  ******** 

But  here  we  must  observe  that  divers  false  reports  have  been  in- 
vented and  spread  industriously,  both  by  word  and  writing,  in  order 
to  blacken  the  character  of  several  ministers,  whom  God  has  been 
pleased  of  his  pure  goodness  to  honour  with  success ;  and  other 
charges  against  their  conduct,  have  been  invidiously  aggravated  be- 
yond their  proper  foundation  and  set  in  a  false  light,  and  some  of 
the  subjects  of  this  work  have  been  doubtless  treated  in  the  same 
manner.  ******* 

We  think  that  our  Rev.  and  ingenious  brother,  Mr.  Jonathan 
Dickinson,  of  Elizabeth-Town,  in  New-Jersey,  who  is  the  author  of 
the  following  dialogues,  has,  with  much  judgment  and  solid  reason- 
ing therein,  baffled  the  common  cavils  of  opposers  against  the  work 
of  God,  and  answered  the  objections  of  the  scrupulous.  W^e  cannot 
but  highly  approve  of  his  description  of  the  nature  and  necessity  of 
conviction,  and  establishing  it  upon  the  impregnable  basis  of  scrip- 
ture and  reason.  His  account  of  regeneration,  faith,  and  consolation^ 
is  likewise  exactly  agreeable  to  our  sentimenl^s.. 


NOTES.  £61 

Wc  likewise  concur  with  our  Rev.  author,  in  his  seasonable  effort 
against  antinoniian  errors,  expressed  in  liis  second  dialogue  ;  and 
declare  to  the  workl  that  we  believe  and  maintain  tliat  sanctificatiou 
is  the  evidence  of  our  justification  and  indispensably  necessary  to 
our  eternal  salvation,  and  that  assurance  is  not  essential  to  faith,  but 
only  a  separal)le  fruit  of  it.  *  *  *  *  * 

And  here  we  cannot  but  declare  our  great  satisfaction  with  the 
concurring  suffrage  of  those  Rev.  and  worthy  gentlemen,  of  a  supe- 
rior and  distinguished  character,  (whose  names  are  mentioned  in  the 
preceeding  preface)  to  the  blessed  work  of  God  in  this  huid. 

We  rejoice  and  give  glory  to  God,  that  in  this  day  of  blasphemy, 
rebuke  and  insult,  he  is  pleased  to  raise  up  witnesses  in  divers  parts 
of  the  world  to  appear  for  his  cause  by  publick  attestations  and  de- 
fences, amongst  whom  we  would  mention  with  due  honour  and  res- 
pect, the  Rev.  Mr.  Edwai'dSy  of  Korthamjitoii  in  Xtiv- England ^  in 
his  sermon  upon  the  distinguishing  marks  of  the  work  of  the  ti*ue 
Spirit,  and  in  his  late  book,  entitled.  Some  thoughts  concerning  the 
revival  of  religion  in  .A'av- England^  and  the  way  it  ought  to  be  ac- 
knowledged and  approved,  ^i  five  parts.  Likewise  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Robe, 

And  the  Rev.  Mr.  Alexander  Webnter^  of  Edinburgh^  in  l\is  book, 
entitled,  divine  influence  the  true  spring  of  the  extraordinary  work 
at  Canibuslangy  and  other  parts  of  the  west  of  Scotland. 

Before  we  conclude  we  think  it  necessary  to  advertise  the  reader 
of  this  particular,  namely,  that  though  the  Rev.  author  of  the  ensu- 
ing dialogues,  did  not  think  it  proper  to  prefix  his  name  to  the  first 
edition  of  them  ;  yet,  being  now  asked,  he  allows  his  name  to  be 
mentioned  in  this  second  edition  ;  but  we  must  not  longer  detain  the 
reader  from  the  performance  itself:  we  tliereforc  conclude  and  re- 
main his  friends  and  servants  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Philadelphia,  June  1st,  1743. 

GILBERT  TENNENT. 

AMLLIAM  TENNENT. 

SAMUEL  BLAIR. 

RICHARD  TREAT. 

SAMUEL  FINLEY. 

JOHN  BLAIR." 
It  seems  surprising  that  the  works  of  president  Dickinson  have 
never  been  collected,  and  i)rinted  in  a  regular  series.  Several  of 
them  have  passed  through  a  number  of  editions,  in  a  detached  form. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  yet  appear  in  volumes.  In  addition 
to  the  excellence  of  the  matter,  their  style  is  perhaps  superior  to 


26£  NOTES. 

that  of  any  other  writer  m  this  country,  at  the  period  of  their  first 
publication.  It  is  remarkably  easy  and  perspicuous ;  and,  except 
that  it  is  a  little  blemished  by  the  colloquial  abbreviations  then  in 
fashion,  is  in  general  neat  and  pure,- 


NOTE  C— Pfl^e  2i. 

THE  following  sketch  of  the  life  and  character  of  Governor 
Belchei\  is  taken  from  "  An  American  biographical  and  historical 
dictionary — By  Willi a3i  Allen,  A.  M." — now  the  Rev.  Doctor 
Allen,  president  of  Bowdoin  college  ;  a  work  to  which  the  writer 
has  been  much  indebted,  and  which  he  highly  esteems. 

*'  Belchee,  (Jonathan)  governor  of  Massachusetts  and  New- Jer- 
sey, was  the  son  of  the  Honourable  Andrew  Belcher,  of  Cambridge, 
one  of  his  majesty's  council  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
and  was  born  about  the  year  1681.  His  father  took  peculiar  care  in 
regard  to  the  education  of  this  son,  on  ^v^lom  the  hopes  of  the  family 
were  fixed.  He  was  graduated  at  Harvard  college,  in  1699.  While 
a  member  of  this  institution,  his  open  and  pleasant  conversation,  join- 
ed with  his  manly  and  generous  conduct,  conciliated  the  esteem  of 
all  his  acquaintance.  Not  long  after  the  termination  of  his  collegial 
course,  he  visited  Europe,  that  he  might  enrich  his  mind  by  his  ob- 
servations upon  the  various  manners  and  characters  of  men,  and 
might  return,  furnished  with  that  useful  knowledge,  which  is  gained 
by  intercourse  with  the  world. 

During  an  absence  of  six  years  from  his  native  country,  he  was 
preserved  from  those  follies,  into  which  inexperienced  youth  are  fre- 
quently drawn,  and  he  even  maintained  a  constant  regard  to  that 
holy  religion,  of  which  he  had  early  made  a  profession.  He  was 
every  where  treated  with  the  greatest  respect.  The  acquaintance 
which  he  formed  with  the  princess  Sophia  and  her  son,  afterwards 
king  George  H,  laid  the  foundation  of  his  future  honours.  After  his 
return  from  his  travels,  he  lived  in  Boston,  in  the  character  of  a  mer- 
chant, with  great  reputation.  He  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil, and  the  general  assembly  sent  him  as  an  agent  of  the  province 
to  the  British  court  in  the  year  1722. 

After  the  death  of  governor  Burnet,  he  was  appointed  by  his  m.aj- 
esty  to  the  government  of  Massachusetts  and  New-Hampshire,  in- 
1730.  In  this  station  he  continued  eleven  years.  His  style  of  living 
was  elegant  and  splendid,  and  he  was  distinguished  tor  hospitality. 
By  the  depreciation  of  the  currency  his  salary  was  much  diminished 


NOTES.  £G5 

in  value  ;  but  he  disdained  any  unwarrantaJjlc  means  of  enriching 
liimself,  tlioui;h  apparently  just  and  sanctioned  by  his  predecessor** 
in  office.  He  had  been  one  of  the  principal  mercluints  of  New-Enj;- 
Innd  ;  but  he  quitted  his  business  on  liis  accession  to  the  chair  of  the 
first  mai^istrate.  Having  a  high  sense  of  the  dignity  of  l^is  commis- 
sion, he  was  determined  to  support  it,  even  at  the  expense  of  his 
private  fortune.  Frank  and  sincere,  lie  was  extremely  liberal  in  his 
censures,  both  in  conversation  and  letters.  This  imprudence  in  a 
j)ublick  office,  gained  him  enemies,  who  were  determined  on  re- 
venge. He  also  assumed  some  authority,  which  had  not  been  exer- 
cised before,  though  he  did  not  exceed  liis  commission.  These 
causes  of  complaint,  together  with  a  controversy  respecting  a  fixed 
salary,  wliich  \\iu\  been  tran>imitted  to  him  from  his  predecessors, 
and  his  opposition  to  the  land  bank  company,  finally  occasioned  lii? 
removal.  His  enemies  were  so  inveterate,  and  sx)  regardless  of  jus- 
tice and  truth,  that,  as  they  were  unable  to  find  real  grounds  for  im- 
l)eaching  his  integrity,  they  forged  letters  for  tire  purpose  of  his 
ruin.  On  being  superseded,  he  repaird  to  court,  where  he  viiidica- 
ted  his  character  and  conduct,  and  exposed  the  base  designs  of  his 
caemies.  He  was  restored  to  the  royal  favor,  and  was  promised  the 
first  vacant  government  in  America.  This  vacancy  occured  in  the 
province  of  New-Jersey,  where  he  arrived  in  1747  ;  and  where  he 
spent  the  remaining  years  of  his  life.  In  this  province  his  memory 
has  been  held  in  deserved  respect. 

When  he  first  arrived  in  this  province,  he  found  it  in  the  utmost 
confusion  by  tumults  and  riotous  disorders,  which  had  for  some  time 
prevailed.  This  circumstance,  joined  to  the  unhappy  controversy 
between  the  two  branches  of  the  legislature,  rendered  the  first  part 
of  his  administration  peculiarly  difficult  ;  but  by  his  firm  and  pi-u- 
dent  measures,  he  surmounted  the  difficulties  of  his  situation.  He 
steadily  pursued  the  interest  of  the  province,  endeavouring  to  distin- 
guish and  promote  men  of  worth  without  partiality.  He  enlarged 
the  charter  of  Princeton  college,  and  was  its  chief  patron  and  bene- 
factor. Even  under  the  growing  infirmities  of  age,  he  applied  himself 
with  his  accustomed  assiduity  and  diligence  to  the  high  duties  of  his 
office.  He  died  at  Elizabeth-Town,  August  31,  1757,  aged  seventy- 
six  years.  His  body  was  brought  to  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  entombed. 

Governor  Belcher  possessed  uncommon  gracefulness  of  person 
and  dignity  of  deportment.  He  obeyed  the  royal  instructions  on  the 
one  hand,  and  exhibited  a  real  regard  to  the  liberties  and  happiness 
of  the  people  on  the  other.  He  was  distinguished  by  his  unshaken 
integrity,  by  his  zeal  for  justice,  and  cai*e  to  have  it  equally  distribu- 


264  KOTES. 

ted.  Neither  the  claims  of  interest,  nor  the  solicitations  of  friends 
could  move  him  from  what  appeared  to  be  his  duty.  He  seems  to 
have  possessed,  in  addition  to  his  other  accomplishments,  that  piety, 
whose  lustre  is  eternal.  His  religion  was  not  a  mere  formal  thing, 
which  he  received  from  tradition,  or  professed  in  conformity  to  the 
custom  of  the  country  in  which  he  lived  ;  it  was  real  and  genuine, 
for  it  impressed  his  heart  and  governed  his  life.  He  had  such 
views  of  the  majesty  and  holiness  of  God,  of  the  strictness  and  puri- 
ty of  the  divine  law,  and  of  his  own  unworthiness  and  iniquity,  as 
made  him  disclaim  all  dependence  on  his  own  righteousness,  and  led 
him  to  place  his  whole  hope  for  salvation  on  the  merits  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  appeared  to  him  an  all  sufficient  and  glorious  Sa- 
viour. He  expressed  the  humblest  sense  of  his  own  character  and 
the  most  exalted  views  of  the  rich,  free,  and  glorious  grace,  offered 
in  the  gospel  to  sinners.  His  faith  worked  by  love  and  produced  the 
genuine  fruits  of  obedience.  It  exhibited  itself  in  a  life  of  piety  and 
devotion,  of  meekness  and  humility,  of  justice,  truth,  and  benevo- 
lence. He  searched  the  holy  scriptures  with  the  greatest  diligence 
and  delight,  in  his  family  he  maintained  the  worship  of  God,  himself 
reading  thfe  volume  of  truth,  and  addressing  in  prayer  the  majesty 
of  heaven  and  of  earth,  so  long  as  his  health  and  strength  would 
possibly  admit.  In  the  hours  of  retirement  he  held  intercourse  with 
heaven,  carefully  redeeming  time  from  the  business  of  this  world  to 
attend  to  the  more  important  concerns  of  another.  Though  there 
was  nothing  ostentatious  in  his  religion,  yet  he  was  not  ashamed  to 
avow  his  attachment  to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  even  when  he  exposed 
himself  to  ridicule  and  censure.  When  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitefield 
was  at  Boston  in  the  year  1740,  he  treated  that  eloquent  itinerant 
wuth  the  greatest  respect.  He  even  followed  him  as  far  as  Worces- 
ter, and  requested  him  to  continue  his  faithful  instructions  and 
pungent  addresses  to  the  conscience,  desiring  him  to  spare  neither 
minwters  nor  rulers.  He  was  indeed  deeply  interested  in  the  pro- 
gress of  holiness  and  religion.  As  he  approached  the  termination  of 
his  life,  he  often  expressed  his  desires  to  depart,  and  to  enter  the 
world  of  glor\'. — Burr\^  funeral  sermon  ;  Hutchinson,  ii.  367 — 397  ; 
Hobne's  annuls,  ii.  224  ;  Smith's  J\^e'H)- Jersey ,  437,  438  ;  Belknap's 
Xerj-HamjislLire,  ii.  95,  96,  126,  165—180  ;  W hit  eji  eld's  journal  for 
1743  ;  Marshall,  i.  299  ;  Minofs  Mass.  i.  61." 

The  first  entry,  in  the  first  volume  of  the  minutes  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  College  of  New-Jersey,  is  a  copy  of  the  Charter.  The  next 
entry  is  the  subjoined  extract ;    which  will  .^how  that  Governor 


NOTES.  265 

Belcher  was  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  college,  and  that  the 
trustees  entertained  a  very  grateful  sense  of  his  services  and  liberal- 
ity on  that  occasion. 

**  On  Thursday  Oct.  13th,  1748,  convened  at  New-Brunswick — 

James  Hude,  Andrew  Johnston,  Thomas  Leonard,  Esq'rs  ;— 
Messrs.  John  Pierson,  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  Joseph  Lamb,  William 
Tennent,  Richard  Treat,  David  Cowell,  Aaron  Burr,  Timothy 
Jones,  Thomas  Arthur,  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  William  P.  Smith, 
Gent. ;  thirteen  of  those  nominated  in  the  charter  to  be  trustees  of 
the  College  ;  who  having  accepted  the  charter,  were  qualified  and 
incorporated  according  to  the  directions  thereof ;  and  being  a  quo- 
rum of  the  corporation,  proceeded,  as  the  charter  directs,  to  choose 
a  clerk — 

Thomas  Arthur,  chosen  clerk  of  the  corporation. 

Voted,  That  an  address  be  made  to  the  Governor,  to  thank  his 
Excellency  for  the  grant  of  the  charter  ;  and  that  at  least  one  of  our 
number  be  appointed  to  wait  on  his  Excellency  and  present  the 
same. 

An  address  being  drawn  up  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burr,  was  read  and 
approved. 

Ordered,  That  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cowell  wait  upon  his  Excellency 
and  present  the  address  to  him. 

Ordered,  That  a  copy  of  the  address  be  taken  by  the  clerks  and 
inserted  in  the  minutes. 

TO  HIS  Excellency 
JONATHAN  BELCHER,  Es(^ 

Captain  General  and  Governor  in  Chief  of  the  province  of  New- 
Jersey,  and  territories  thereon  depending  in  America,  and  Vice- Ad' 
Tniral  of  the  same  ; — 

The  humble  address  of  the  Trustees  of  the  college  of  New-Jersey  ; 

MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  EXCELLENCY 

We  hare  often  adored  that  wise  and  gracious  Providence,  which 
has  placed  your  Excellency  in  the  chief  seat  of  government  in  this 
province  ;  and  have  taken  our  part  with  multitudes  in  congratulat- 
ing New-Jersey  upon  that  occasion. 

Your  long  known  and  well  approved  friendship  to  religion  and 
learning,  left  us  no  room  to  doubt  your  doing  all  that  lay  in  your 
power  to  promote  so  valuable  a  cause  in  these  parts  ;  and  upon  this 
head  our  most  raised  expectations  have  been  abundantly  answered. 
We  do,  therefore,  cheerfully  embrace  this  opportunity  of  paying 
our  most  sincere  and  grateful  acknowledgements  to  your  Excel- 
lency, for  gi-anting  so  ample  and  well  contrived  a  Charter  for  erecting 
a  seminary  of  learning  in  this  province,  which  has  been  so  mucl^ 
wanted  and  so  long  desired. 

M  2 


Z6G  NOTES. 

And  as  it  has  pleased  your  Excellency  to  intrust  us  with  so  impor-' 
tant  a  charge,  it  shall  be  our  study  and  care  to  approve  ourselves' 
worthy  the  great  confidence  you  have  placed  in  us,  by  doing  our  ut- 
most to  promote  so  noble  a  design. 

And  since  we  have  your  Excellency  to  direct  and  assist  us  in  this 
important  and  difficult  undertaking,  we  shall  engage  in  it  with  the 
more  freedom  and  cheerfulness  ;  not  doubting  but  by  the  smiles  of 
Heaven,  under  your  protection,  it  may  prove  a  flourishing  seminary 
of  piety  and  good  literature ;  and  continue  not  only  a  perpetual  mon- 
ument of  honour  to  your  name,  above  the  victories  and  triumphs  of 
renowned  conquerors,  but  a  lasting  foundation  for  the  future  pros- 
perity of  church  and  state. 

That  your  Excellency  may  long  live  a  blessing  to  this  province, 
an  ornament  and  support  to  our  infant  college  ; — that  you  may  sec 
your  generous  designs  for  the  public  good  take  their  desired  eifect, 
and  at  last  receive  a  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away, — is  and 
shall  be  our  constant  prayer. 

By  order  of  the  tinistees, 

THOMAS  ARTHUR,  CI:  Cor..^ 

New-Brunswick,  Oct.  13th,  1748. 

To  which  his  Excellency  was  pleased  to  return  the  following  ■ 

answer. 

Gentlemen, 

I  have  this  day  received  by  one  of  your  members,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Cowell,  your  kind  and  handsome  address  ;  for  which  I  heartily  re- 
turn you  thanks  ;  and  shall  esteem  my  being  placed  at  the  head  of 
this  government,  a  still  greater  favour  from  God  and  the  king,  if  it 
may  at  any  time  fall  in  my  power,  as  it  is  in  my  inclination,  to  pro- 
mote the  kingdom  of  the  great  Redeemer,  by  taking  the  college  of 
New-Jersey  under  my  countenance  and  protection,  as  a  seminary  of 
true  religion  and  good  literature. 

J.  BELCHER." 

As  Governor  Belcher  was  the  founder  of  the  college,  so  it  will  ap- 
pear by  the  following  extracts  that  it  was  he  who  advised  and 
urged  the  erection  of  the  college  edifice  ;  when  as  yet  the  funds  of 
the  institution  were  so  scanty  that,  but  for  his  countenance  and  zeal, 
the  enterprise  would  have  been  deemed  impracticable.  This  edifice 
was,  for  many  years,  the  largest  single  building  in  our  country. 


NOTES.  asr 

<*  NEWARK,  Sept.  27th,  1752. 

«  «  »  # 

'•  His  Excellency  Governor  Belcher  was  pleased  to  deliver  in  a 
speech  to  the  board  of  the  trustees,  together  with  certain  proposals 
respecting  the  important  interests  of  the  college  :  which  being  read, 
the  tinistees  unanimously  voted  his  Excellency  their  heaity  thanks, 
for  his  kind  regard  for  the  welfare  of  tliis  infant  seminary  ; — that  his 
Excellency's  speech  be  drawn  into  the  college  book,  and  said  i)ro- 
posals  be  taken  under  immediate'consideration." 

His  Excellency's  speech  was  in  the  following  words : 

Gentlemen  of  the  trustees  of  the  college  of  New-Jersey.  *Tis 
■with  much  satisfaction  th;it  I  meet  ycfu  this  day  (being  the  anniver- 
sarv  of  our  commencement)  hoping  we  are  come  together,  to  act  as 
with  one  heart  and  mind  for  the  best  establishment  of  our  infant  col- 
lege, which  I  trust,  by  the  favor  of  Almighty  God,  will  become  a 
singular  blessing  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  provinces ;  to  the  pre- 
sent and  future  generations. 

By  the  latest  advices  from  England,  I  am  sorry  to  find,  that  the 
difficulty  we  have  been  under  of  procuring  a  proper  person  to  under- 
take a  voyage  to  Great  Britain,  for  soliciting  our  friends  there  to  ex- 
tend their  good  will  and  bounty  towards  us,  has,  at  present,  lost  us  a 
reasonable  prospect  of  their  assistance  and  benefactions ;  but  which 
I  still  hope,  may  be  obtained  hereafter* 

In  the  mean  time,  I  think  it  our  duty,  to  exert  ourselves,  in  all 
reasonably  ways  and  measures  we  can,  for  the  aid  and  assistance  of 
our  friends  nearer  home  ;  that  we  may  have  wherewith  to  build  a 
house  for  the  accommodation  of  the  students,  and  another  for  the 
president  and  his  family :  And  it  seems  therefore  necessary,  that, 
■without  further  dciay,  we  agree  upon  the  place  where  to  set  these 
buildings.  By  the  smiles  of  heaven  upon  this  undertaking,  the  stu- 
dents have  become  so  numerous  as  that "  the  bed  is  shorter  than  that 
a  man  can  stretch  himself  upon  it,  and  the  covering  narrower  than 
that  he  can  wrap  himself  in  it."  Besides,  the  way  and  method  we 
are  in,  as  to  the  place  and  manner  of  instructing  the  youth,  looks  to 
me  like  lighting  a  candle,  and  putting  it  under  a  bushel.  Although 
every  thing  must  have  its  beginning,  and  these  things  commonly  ad- 
vance by  slow  paces ;  yet  we  find  by  the  neigh!)Quring  provinces,  that 
seminaries  of  this  kind  have  always  increased  faster,  and  been  more 
useful  to  the  world,  after  the  building  of  colleges  than  before.  I 
therefore  hope  you  will  closely  apply  yourselves,  so  as  to  come  to  a 
conclusion  in  this  material  article. 


268  NOTES. 

I  have  minuted  several  other  things,  which  I  think  may  be  of  good 
service  to  this  society,  and  which  shall  be  also  read  to  you,  in  order 
to  be  got  through  at  this  time :  And  I  wish  we  may  patiently  keep 
together  till  they  are  done. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  tell  you,  that  (through  the  sparing  mercy 
and  forbearance  of  a  gracious  God)  I  have  passed  the  stated  peri- 
od of  human  life ;  and  I  may  say  with  that  eastern  prince  of  old 
"  my  days  are  extinct,  and  the  graves  are  ready  for  me ;"  therefore 
before  *'  I  shall  go  hence  and  be  here  no  more,"  if  I  may,  by  any 
ways  or  means,  be  serviceable  to  this  seminary  of  religion  and  learn- 
ing, it  will  give  me  pleasure  in  life  and  comfort  in  death. 

J.  BELCHER. 

Newark,  September  27th,  1752. 

The  trustees,  taking  into  consideration  that  the  people  of  New- 
Brunswick  have  not  complied  with  the  terms  proposed  to  them  for 
fixing  the  college  in  that  place,  by  the  time  refered  to  in  the  offer  of 
this  board ;  now  voted,  that  they  are  free  from  any  obligation  to  fix 
the  college  at  New-Brunswick,  and  are  at  liberty  to  place  it  where 
they  please. 

The  trustees  agree  that  it  should  be  put  to  vote,  in  what  place  the 
college  shall  be  fixed,  upon  such  conditions  as  this  board  shall  pro- 
pose. 

Voted,  that  the  college  be  fixed  in  Princeton  ;  upon  condition  that 
the  inhabitants  of  said  place  secure  to  the  trustees  that  two  hundred 
acres  of  woodland,  and  that  ten  acres  of  cleared  land,  which  Mr. 
Sergant  viewed ;  and  also  one  thousand  pounds  proc.  money ;  the 
one  half  of  which  sum  to  be  paid  within  two  months  after  the  foun- 
dation of  the  college  is  laid,  and  the  other  half  within  the  next  six 
months  afterward ;  and  that  the  people  of  said  place  comply  with 
the  terms  of  this  vote  within  three  months  of  this  time,  by  giving  in 
bonds  for  said  money,  and  making  a  sufficient  title  for  said  lands,  to 
be  received  by  such  persons  as  this  board  shall  appoint ;  or  also  for- 
feit all  privilege  from  this  vote  ;  and  that  the  treasurer  be  empow- 
ered to  give  them  a  bond  for  the  fulfilment  of  this  vote,  on  the  part 
of  the  trustees. 

The  trustees  appoint  Messrs  President  Burr,  Samuel  WoodinifF, 
Jonathan  Sergeant,  Elihu  Spencer,  and  Caleb  Smith,  to  be  a  commit- 
tee, to  transact  the  above  said  affair  with  the  inhabitants  of  Prince- 
ton ;  ai\4  that  Elizabeth-town  be  the  place  for  accomplishing  the 
same." 

The  following  extracts  and  remarks  will  exhibit  the  circumstan- 
ces attending  the  permanent  location  of  the  college,  the  erection  of 
the  edifice,  the  liberality  of  Gov,  Belcher  in  the  donation  of  his  libra- 


NOTES.  26S 

17,  portrait,  &c.  the  gratitude  of  the  trustees,  the  refusal  of  the  Gov- 
emor  to  permit  the  edifice  to  be  called  by  his  name,  and  his  reasons 
for  giving  it  the  name  which  it  now  bears. 

"PRINCETON,  January  24th,  1753. 


The  committee  appointed  last  meeting  to  manage  the  affair  with 
the  Princeton  people,  about  having  the  college  in  that  place,  laid  be- 
fore this  board  what  they  had  done  in  this  matter ;  and  it  is  now 
voted,  that  said  people  (when  Mr.  Randolph  has  given  deed  for  a 
certain  tract  of  land  of  four  hundred  feet  front,  and  thirty  pole  deptli, 
in  lines  at  right  angles  with  the  broad  street,  where  it  is  proposed 
that  the  college  shall  be  built)  have  complied  with  the  terms  propos- 
ed to  them  for  fixing  the  college  in  said  place. 

Voted,  that  Mr.  Cowell  and  Mr.  Hazard  be  desired  to  get  a  suffi- 
cient deed  prepared  for  the  conveyance  of  the  above  said  land,  to  be 
laid  before  this  board  at  their  next  meeting. 

BURLINGTON,  May  23d,  1753. 

*  *  *  * 

Voted—That  Mr.  Pemberton,  William  Smith,  Esq.  William  P. 
Smith,  and  Peter  Van  B.  Livingston,  be  appointed  to  draw  up  an  ad- 
dress, in  the  name  of  the  trustees,  to  his  Excellency  Governor  Bel- 
cher, humbly  to  desire  that  he  would  use  his  influence  in  Europe, 
recommending  the  affair  of  the  college,  by  the  gentlemen  appointed 
to  take  a  voyage  there  to  solicit  benefactions  for  it." 

The  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Davies,  then  of  Hanover,"in  Virginia,  and  afterwards  president  of  \/ 
the  college,  had  been  appointed,  and  had  consented,  to  make  a  voy- 
age to  Great  Britain,  for  the  purpose  specified  in  the  foregoing  min- 
ute. They  went,  with  the  warmest  recommendations  the  Governor 
could  give  them  :  And  it  appears  that  it  was  chiefly  from  the  liberal 
contributions  which  they  obtained  in  England  and  Scotland,  that  the 
expense  of  building  the  college  edifice,  and  a  house  for  the  presi- 
dent, was  defrayed  ;  and  that  a  small  fund  was  afterwards  formed  to 
assist  in  paying  the  salaries  of  the  officers  of  the  college. 

"  PRINCETON,  July  22d,  1754. 

***** 

The  trustees  agreed  to  purchase  ten  acres  of  land  from  Mr.  Hor- 
ner, contiguous  to  the  seven  acres  given  to  the  college,  and  the  trea- 
surer is  ordered  to  pay  to  Mr.  Horner,  fifty  pounds  proc.  within  two 


270  NOTES. 

montlis  from  tliis  time,  and  fifty  pounds  within  a  yeaf  aftef;  upon 
condition  that  Mr.  Horner  give  a  well  executed  deed  for  said  land : 
And  Mr.  Cowell  is  desired  to  see  the  land  sur\^yed,  and  receive  the 
deed  for  it. 

Voted— That  Thomas  Leonard,  Esq.  Samuel  Woodruif,  Esq.  with 
Messrs  Cowell,  William  Tennent,  Burr,  Treat,  Brainerd  and  Smith, 
be  a  committee,  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  trustees  in  building  the  col- 
lege, according  to  the  plan  that  shall  be  agreed  on  at  this  meeting ; 
And  also  to  proceed  in  building  a  president's  house  and  kitchen, 
with  all  conveniences  for  accomodating  college,  as  soon  as  tliey  shall 
think  necessary — Provided,  that  the  plan  for  the  president's  house 
be  agreed  on  by  a  majority  of  the  trustees  that  shall  be  present  at 
the  next  commencement  at  Newark  ;  and  that  any  three  of  the  said 
committee  be  empowered  to  act,  provided  that  a  majority  of  said 
committee  are  duly  notified  of  the  time  and  place  of  the  said  meet- 
ing :  And  the  said  committee  are  hereby  empowered  to  draw  upon 
the  treasurer  for  any  sum  or  sums  of  money,  for  carrying  on  the 
said  buildings. 

Voted — That  laying  the  foundation  of  the  college  be  proceeded  up-- 
on  immediately.  That  the  plan  drawn  by  Doct.  Shippen  and  Mr. 
Robert  Smith,  be,  in  general,  the  plan  of  the  college.  That  the  col- 
lege be  built  of  brick,  if  good  brick  can  be  made  at  Princeton,  and  if 
sand  can  be  got  reasonably  cheap.  That  it  be  three  stories  high,  and 
without  any  cellar. 

Voted— That  Mr.  Samuel  Hazard  and  Mr.  Robert  Smith,  fix  on 
the  spot  for  building,  and  mark  out  the  ground. 

NEVv^\RK,  September  25th,  1754, 


Voted That  the  college  be  built  of  stone,  and  the  president's 

house  of  wood." 

There  is  no  record  that  the  latter  part  of  this  vote  was  rescinded ; 
but  the  fact  was,  that  the  president's  house  was  built  of  brick. 

"  Voted — That  the  committee  appointed  at  Princeton  to  act  in  be- 
half of  the  trustees  in  building  the  college  be  continued,  with  all 
their  power. 

ELIZABETHTOWN,  May  Tth,  1755. 


A  catalogue  of  books  belonging  to  his  Excellency  Jonathan  Belcher, 
Esq."  &c. 

Then  follows  a  catalogue  of  the  books  of  the  Governor's  library, 
which  were  formallv  made  over  to  the  college,  in  the  subjoined  in- 


NOTES.  271 

stniment.  This  library  consisted  of  474  volumes.  Many  of  the 
books  were  'iiij^hly  valuable  ;  but  such  of  them  as  remained,  after 
the  purloining  of  the  British  and  American  armies,  when  they  suc- 
cessively occupied  the  college  edifice,  were  nearly  all  consumed, 
with  the  edifice,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1802." 

To  all  to  whom  these  ])rescnts  shall  come,  greeting,  I  Jonathan 
Belcher,  Captain-Cicneral,  Governor  and  Commander  in  chief  of  the 
province  of  New-Jersey,  send  greeting.  Know  ye,  that  I,  the  said 
Jonathan  Belcher,  as  well  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  regard 
wliich  I  bear  to  the  interest  of  the  college,  lately  incorporated  in  the 
province  aforesaid,  as  also  for  the  sum  often  shillings  lawful  money 
of  New-Jersey,  to  me  in  hand  paid,  the  receipt  whereof  I  do  hereby 
acknowledge ;  and  for  divers  otlier  good  causes  and  considerations 
me  thereunto  moving,  have  given  and  granted,  and  do  by  these  pre- 
sents give,  grant  and  confirm,  unto  the  trustees  of  the  said  college 
of  New-Jersey  and  their  successors,  for  the  use  and  benefit  oftlie 
said  college  forever,  all  my  library  of  books,  a  catalogue  whereof  is 
hereunto  *  together  with  my  own  picture  at  full 

length,  in  a  gilt  frame,  now  standing  in  my  blue  chamber  ;  also  one 
pair  of  globes,  and  ten  pictures  in  black  frames,  over  the  mantle 
piece  in  my  library  room,  being  the  heads  of  the  Kings  and  Queens 
of  England  ;  and  also  my  large  carved  gilded  coat  of  arms — To  have 
and  to  hold,  all  and  singular  the  said  library  of  books,  and  other  the 
aforesaid  pi'emises,  unto  the  said  trustees  of  the  college  of  New- Jer- 
sey and  their  successors,  to  the  only  proper  use  and  benefit  of  tlie 
said  college  forever;  without  any  manner  of  challenge,  blame  or 
demand  from  me  the  said  Jonathan  Belcher,  or  from  any  other  per- 
son or  persons  whatsoever,  for  me,  or  any  of  my  heirs  or  executors, 
after  my  death  ;  or  without  any  money,  or  other  thing,  to  be  yielded 
therefor,  unto  me  the  said  Jonathan  Belcher,  my  heirs,  executors  and 
assigns;  reserving  for  myself,  nevertheless,  the  possession  and  use 
of  all  the  aforegoing  premises  during  my  natural  life :  And  I  the 
said  Jonathan  Belcher,  all  and  singular  the  aforesaid  articles  of 
books,  pictures,  globes  and  coat  of  arms,  to  the  said  trustees  of  the 
college  aforesaid  and  their  successors,  against  all  people  will  war- 
rant and  forever  defend  by  these  presents.  And  farther  know  yc, 
that  I  the  said  Jonathan  Belcher,  have  put  the  said  trustees  in  po>- 
session  of  all  and  singular  the  premises  aforesaid,  by  the  delivery  of 
one  volume  of  my  library  aforesaid,  unto  the  trustees  of  the  said 
college :  in  witness  whereof.  I  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal, 

*  This  blaukis  in  llie  copy. 


Srs  NOTES. 

this  eighth  day  of  May,  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  his  Majesties 
reign,  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 

fifty-five. 

Sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence' 

""^^^  >  J.  BELCHER. 

Robert  Ogden, 

John  Grigg. 

Elizabeth-Town,  New- Jersey,  May  8th,  1755. 
This  day  personally  appeared  before  me,  the  above  named  Jona- 
than Belcher,  Esq.  and  acknowledged  the  aforegoing  Instiniment  to 
be  his  voluntary  act  and  deed. 

MATTHIAS  HETFIELD, 
Justice  of  Peace  for  the  province  of  New-Jersey. 

Newark,  September  24th,  1755.     The  trustees  of  the  college  of 
New- Jersey,  met,  according  to  adjournment. 


His  Excellency  Governor  Belcher,  having  been  pleased  to  make 
a  generous  donation  of  his  library  of  books,  with  other  valuable  or- 
naments, to  the  college  of  New- Jersey,  the  trustees  voted,  that  an 
address  of  thanks  be  made  to  his  Excellency,  and  presented  by  pre- 
sident Burr,  William  1.  Smith,  Samuel  Woodruff  and  John  Brainerd, 
and  that  said  address  be  in  the  following  words. 

To  his  Excellency  Jonathan  Belcher,  Esq.  captain-general,  and 
governor  in  chief  of  the  province  of  Nova-Cseserea,  or  New-Jersey, 
chancellor,  and  vice  admiral  in  the  same. 

AN  ADDRESS  FROM  THE  TRUSTEES  OF  THE  COL- 
LEGE OF  NEAV-JERSEY. 

May  it  please  your  Excellency  : 

'Tis  with  hearts  warmed  with  the  liveliest  sentiments  of  gratitude, 
we  take  this  occasion,  to  recognize  that  indulgent  providence,  which 
at  first  stationed  your  Excellency  at  the  helm  of  this  government ; 
and  still  preserves  a  life  so  valuable  in  the  eyes  of  every  lover  of 
learaing  and  virtue. 

By  the  skill  and  prudence  of  the  measures  pursued  in  your  admin- 
istration (through  the  smiles  of  heaven)  harmony,  good  order,  and 
tranquillity,  are  restored  to  a  province,  which,  before  your  accession, 
"Was  unhappily  distracted  with  animosities,  tumults  and  general  dis- 
orders. 

But  what  we  are  principally  to  commemorate,  sir,  is  that  glorious 
ardour  you  have  always  discovered,  for  the  promotion  of  true  piety, 


NOTES.  5rs 

aad  sound  literature,  among  the  inhabitants  of  New-Jersey.  We 
are  sensible  how  much,  under  God,  tlie  seminary  of  learning  lately 
erected  in  this  province,  and  committed  to  our  charge,  owes  its  in- 
fluence and  present  flourishing  state,  to  your  Excellency's  patron- 
age and  influence. 

We  heartily  congratulate  your  Excellency,  on  the  signal  success 
with  which  Heaven  has  crowned  your  generous  eff'orts,  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  interests  of  this  noble  institution :  an  institution 
calculated  to  disperse  the  mists  of  ignorance  and  error, — to  cultivate 
the  minds  of  the  rising  generation,  with  the  principles  of  knowledge 
and  virtue, — to  promote  the  real  glory  and  intrinsic  happiness  of 
society. 

The  extensive  recommendations  your  Excellency  was  pleased  to 
make  in  Great  Britain,  of  the  College  of  New-Jersey,  and  your  coun- 
tenance and  encouragement  offered  our  late  mission,  to  solicit  the  be- 
nevolence of  the  friends  of  learning  abroad,  demand,  at  this  time, 
our  most  thankful  acknowledgments.  We  rejoice  with  you,  Sir,  on 
the  favourable  event  of  that  necessary  and  laudable  undertaking. 
An  event  which  hath  so  amply  enabled  us  to  erect  a  convenient  edi- 
fice, for  the  reception  of  the  students,  and  hath  laid  the  foundation 
for  a  fund,  for  the  support  of  the  necessary  instructors. 

The  zeal  your  Excellency  still  unremittingly  exerts,  in  favour  of 
this  seminary,  language  would  fail  us  sufficiently  to  applaud.  The 
late  extraordinary  influence  of  your  generosity,  in  endowing  our  pub- 
lic library,  with  your  own  excellent  collection  of  volumes,  a  set  of 
globes,  and  other  valuable  ornaments,  can  never  be  mentioned  by  us 
•without  the  most  grateful  emotions.  With  the  highest  pleasure  we 
reflect,  that  one  of  the  pnncipal  apartments  of  the  building,  will  be 
adorned  with  the  arms  and  effigies  of  its  great  patron  and  benefac- 
tor. Donations  so  seasonable  and  necessary,  must  add  reputation  to 
the  society  ;  enable  us  more  eff'ectually  to  promote  the  grand  ends  of 
its  institution,  and  animate  us  with  redoubled  vigour,  in  the  faithful 
discharge  of  our  trust. 

These,  with  a  variety  of  instances  of  your  Excellency's  singular 
concern  for  the  future  prosperity  of  church  and  state,  will  engage 
generations  yet  unborn  to  rise  u/i  and  call  you  blessed. 

The  disinterested  motives  which  actuate  every  part  of  your  Excel- 
lency's conduct,  must  be  apparent  to  all,  who  are  acquainted  with 
your  amiable  character,  and  the  conscious  pleasure  you  find,  in  being 
instrumental  of  advancing  the  glory  of  tlic  Deity,  and  the  felicity  of 

N  2 


s 


274  NOTES. 

mankind,  is  far  superior  to  the  transient  satisfaction  resulting  from 
vain  eulogiums  and  exterior  greatness. 

Though  we  are  conscious,  that  the  worthy  and  benevolent  deeds, 
-which  have  distinguished  your  Excellency's  life,  are  abundantly  suf- 
ficient to  embalm  your  memory  after  death ;  yet  suffer,  sir,  an  at- 
tempt, suggested  by  the  same  dictates  of  gratitude,  to  transmit  your 
name  with  adventitious  honour  to  distant  posterity.  As  the  college 
of  New- Jersey  views  you  in  the  light  of  its  founder,  patron  and  bene- 
factor, and  the  impartial  world  will  esteem  it  a  respect  deservedly 
due  to  the  name  of  Belcher;  permit  us  to  dignify  the  edifice  now 
erecting  at  Princeton,  with  that  endeared  appellation,  and  when  your 
Excellency  is  translated  to  a  house  not  made  with  hands  eternal  in. 
the  heavens^  let  Belcher-Hall  proclaim  your  beneficent  acts,  for 
the  advancement  of  Christianity,  and  the  emolument  of  the  arts  and 
sciences^  to  the  latest  ages. 

Newark,  September  24th,  1755. 

NEWARK,  September  29th,  1756. 

***** 

The  gentlemen  who  were  appointed  at  our  last  meeting  to  deliver 
the  address  of  thanks  to  his  Excellency,  for  the  generous  donation 
of  his  library  to  the  college,  reported  that  his  Excellency  returned 
for  answer  as  follows— 

Gentlemen, 

I  give  you  my  hearty  thanks  for  this  respectful  and  affectionate 
address  ;  but  ashamed  and  sorry  I  am,  that  I  can  make  so  slender  a 
challenge  to  the  merit  of  it. 

When  I  first  had  the  honour  of  his  majesty's  appointing  me  a  Gov- 
ernor in  his  plantations  (now  nineteen  years  ago)  I  determined,  as 
far  as  it  would  consist  with  his  majesty's  honour  and  interest,  and 
with  the  welfare  of  the  people,  to  look  upon  moderation^  as  a  wise 
temperament  for  the  easy  and  happy  administration  of  government : 
and  this  I  believe  has  greatly  contributed  to  the  present  peace  and 
tranquillity  of  this  province,  after  the  many  tumults  and  riots  it  had 
been  groaning  under,  for  a  long  time  before  my  arrival.  Soon  after 
which,  it  seemed  to  me,  that  a  seminary  for  religion  and  learning 
should  be  promoted  in  this  province  ;  for  the  better  enlightening  the 
minds,  and  polishing  the  manners,  of  this  and  the  neighbouring  colo- 
nies :  And  to  this  end,  that  there  should  be  a  society  under  a  good 
institution,  for  obtaining  the  desired  success.  This  important  affair, 
I  have  been,  during  my  administration,  honestly  and  heartily  prose- 
cuting, in  all  such  laudable  ways  and  measures  as  I  have  judged 


NOTES.  275 

most  likely  to  effect  what  we  all  aim  at ;  which  I  hope  and  believe 
is  the  advancing  the  kingdom  and  interest  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  and 
the  general  good  of  mankind.  And  I  desire,  in  the  first  place,  to 
give  praise  and  thanks  to  Almighty  God,  and  under  him  to  the  many 
generous  benefactors  who  have  contributed  to  the  encouragement 
and  establishment  of  the  college  of  New-Jersey  ;  which  affair  I  have 
been  pursuing,  free  from  all  sinister  views  and  aims,  as  a  thing  I 
believe  to  be  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour.  And 
when,  in  God's  best  time,  I  must  go  the  way  whence  I  shall  not  re- 
turn, I  shall  lay  down  my  head  in  the  grave,  with  the  greater  peace 
and  comfort,  in  tliat  God  has  spared  me  to  live  to  see  the  present 
flourishing  state  of  this  college  ;  for  whose  future  welfare  and  pros- 
perity, I  shall  pray  in  some  of  my  latest  moments. 

I  take  a  particular  grateful  notice,  of  the  respect  and  honour  you 
are  desirous  of  doing  me  and  my  family,  in  calling  the  edifice  lately 
erected  in  Princeton  by  the  name  of  Belcher-Hall ;  but  you  will  be 
so  good  as  to  excuse  me,  while  I  absolutely  decline  such  an  honour, 
for  I  have  always  been  very  fond  of  the  motto  of  a  late  great  perso- 
nage, Prodesse  quam  consjiici.  But  I  must  not  leave  this  head  with- 
out asking  the  favour  of  your  naming  the  present  building  Nassau- 
Hall  ;  and  this  I  hope  you  will  take  as  a  further  instance  of  my 
real  regard  to  the  future  welfare  and  interest  of  the  college,  as  it 
will  express  the  honour  we  retain,  in  tliis  remote  part  of  the  globe, 
to  the  immortal  memory  of  the  glorious  King  William  the  third,  who 
was  a  branch  of  the  illustrious  house  of  Nassau,  and  who,  under 
Ciod,  was  the  great  deliverer  of  the  British  natiori^  from  those  two 
monstrous  furies,  Popery  and  Slavery  :  And  who,  for  the  better 
establishment  of  the  true  religion  and  English  liberty,  brought  for- 
ivard  an  act  in  the  British  parliament,  for  securing  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain  to  the  present  royal  family,  whereby  we  now  become 
liappy  under  the  best  of  Kings,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  £?7gli8/t  lib- 
erty and  prosperity.  And  God  Almighty  grant  we  may  never  want 
a  Sovereign  from  his  loins  to  sway  the  British  sceptre  in  righteous- 
ness. 

J.  BELCHER. 

Whereas  his  Excellency  Governor  Belcher  has  signified  to  us,  his 
declining  to  have  the  edifice  we  have  lately  erected  at  Princeton, 
for  the  use  and  service  of  New-Jersey  College,  to  be  called  after  his 
name,  and  has  desired,  for  good  reasons,  that  it  should  be  called 
after  the  name  of  the  illustrious  house  of  Nassau — It  is  therefore 
voted,  and  is  hereby  ordered,  that  the  said  edifice  be,  in  all  time  to 
come,  called  and  known  by  the  name  of  NASSAU-HALL.'* 


are  notes. 

It  is  not  known  to  the  author  that  any  part  of  the  foregoing  ex- 
tracts, from  the  minutes  of  the  trustees  of  the  college  of  New- 
Jersey,  has  ever  till  now  been  published.  It  was  presumed]  that 
their  publication  would  be  gratifying  to  the  alumni,  and  other 
particular  friends  of  the  college.  They  may  also  not  be  devoid  of 
interest,  to  all  who  take  pleasure  in  tracing  the  origin  of  literary 
institutions,  as  they  afford  authentic  documents  in  regard  to  the 
foundation  of  Nassau-Hall.  But  the  author's  chief  design  in'  render- 
ing these  extracts  so  copious  was,  to  pay  what  he  deemed  a  just 
tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  Governor  Belcher;  and  to  hold 
up  his  example  as  worthy  of  imitation  by  all  who  occupy  stations  of 
power  and  trust ;  or  who  possess,  in  any  way,  the  means  of  promot- 
ing religion  and  learning. 

The  college  still  needs  a  patronage  which  the  spirit  of  Belcher 
would  not  fail  to  afford.  It  needs  an  enlargement  of  its  library,  of 
its  philosophical  apparatus,  and  of  its  cabinet  of  mineralogy  and 
natural  history.  It  needs  an  astronomical  observatory.  It  needs  the 
endowment  of  professorships,  fellowships,  and  scholarships.  The 
alumni  of  Nassau-Hall,  who  may  read  these  notes,  will  permit  the 
author  to  remind  them,  that  if  their  Ahna  Mater  is  ever  liberally 
endowed,  it  must  probably  be  by  them,  or  through  their  influence.  It 
is  believed  that  she  has  not  forfeited  their  regard  and  attachment ; 
nor  that  she  deserves  them  less  now  than  at  any  former  period. 
But  perhaps  those  of  them  who  are  wealthy — and  many  are  so— - 
have  not  considered  what  a  service  to  science  and  religion  they  might 
render,  by  such  endowments  as  have  been  specified ; — made  either 
by  donations  while  they  live,  or  by  testamentary  bequests  at  their 
death.  Their  memory  too  might  be  embalmed,  like  that  of  Belcher, 
as  the  patrons  of  piety  and  learning,  and  their  example  might  incite 
others  to  acts  of  liberality  and  charity,  in  the  highest  degree  benefi- 
cial to  society. 

But  the  author  is  sensible  that  he  ought  not  to  hold  the  language 
only  of  complaint  and  solicitation.  He  is  called  to  acknowledged 
with  gratitude — and  he  makes  the  acknowledgment  with  unfeigned 
pleasure — that  the  public  liberality  was  promptly  and  kindly  mani- 
fested when  the  college  edifice  was  laid  in  ashes.  By  that  liberality 
it  was  not  only  re-edified,  but  a  professor's  house  was  added  to  the 
establishment,  with  two  large  publick  buildings  three  stories  high  ; — 
one  on  the  East  side  of  the  front  yard  of  the  college,  furnishing 
apartments  for  a  refectory,  a  philosophical  room,  and  a  cabinet  of 
Natural  History  ; — the  other,  on  the  ^'\'est  side  of  the  yard,  contain- 
ing the  library,  the  mineralogical  cabinet,  the  halls  of  the  literary 
iK)cioties,  and  rooms  for  the  recitations  of  the  several  classes. 


NOTES.  nrr 

By  the  same  liberality  a  Library,  more  valuable  than  that  which 
had  been  consumed  was  provided  for  the  institution. 

More  tlian  five  thousand  volumes  were  immediately  obtained, 
either  by  purchase,  or  by  the  donations  of  liberal  benefactors  ;  and 
this  number  has  since  been  increased  to  nearly  eight  thousand  vol- 
umes ;  which,  witli  the  libraries  of  the  liteniry  societies,  give  the 
professors  and  pupils  of  tlie  college  access  to  more  than  twelve  thou- 
sand volumes  of  the  most  select  and  valuable  books.  The  same  liber- 
ality, likewise,  enabled  the  trustees  to  purchase  a  philosophical 
apparatus,  which  cost  in  London  two  thousand  dollars  ;  but  which 
the  use  and  accidents  of  nearly  twenty  years  have  considerably  im- 
paired. 

By  the  order  of  the  board  of  trustees,  the  names  of  all  benefactors 
of  the  college,  with  the  nature  and  amount  of  their  donations,  are 
recorded  in  books  provided  for  the  purpose,  which  are  open  to  the 
inspection  of  all  who  visit  the  library,  and  who  choose  to  examine 
them.  The  author  regrets  that  it  is  not  practicable  for  him  to  give, 
in  these  notes,  a  complete  list  of  benefactors ;  nor  even  of  those 
whose  liberality  has  been  considerable.  Vet  he  hopes  it  will  not  be 
deemed  invidious,  to  state  the  donations  of  those  whose  munificence, 
either  by  its  amount,  or  by  its  adaptedncss  to  the  wants  of  the  insti- 
tution, has  been  most  distinguislied. 

The  family  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Phillips,  of  Boston,  has  been 
among  the  earliest  liberal  donors  to  Nassau-Hall.  William  Phil- 
lips, Esq.  with  two  of  his  brothers,  whose  names  have  not  been  com- 
municated, made  a  donation  to  the  college,  in  1769,  of  one  thousand 
dollars  in  cash.  The  like  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  in  cash  was 
given  by  the  present  Lieutenant-Governor  Phillips,  in  1802,  to  as- 
sist in  rebuilding  the  college  edifice;  which  was  the  largest  single 
donation,  by  more  than  one  half,  which  was  made  for  that  pui-pose. 

Mr.  Hugh  Hodgk,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Mr.  James  Lkslik,  of 
New-York,  the  latter  an  alumnus  of  tlie  college,  left  testamentary 
bequests  to  form  a  fund  for  the  education  in  the  college  of  poor  and 
pious  youth  for  the  gospel  ministry  :  by  which,  for  many  years  past, 
from  nine  to  eleven  youth  have  been  supported  annually.  Some  of 
the  most  able  and  useful  ministers  of  the  gospel  now  in  this  country 
have  been  educated  on  this  fund.  And  it  is  the  deliberate  oj)inion  of 
the  author,  that  among  all  the  religious  charities  now  patronized, 
and  to  which  he  cordially  wishes  success,  there  is  not  one  by  which 
the  interests  of  true  religion  would  be  more  immediately  and  effec- 
tually promoted,  than  by  adding  to  this  fund. 


278  NOTES. 

* 

Colonel  Henry  Rutgers,  of  New- York,  at  the  time  a  trustee  of 
the  college,  gave  to  the  institution,  in  the  year  1811,  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars :  one  of  his  sisters  Mrs.  Banker,  the  sum  of  one 
thousand  dollars:  another  of  his  sisters  Mrs.  McCrea,  five  hundred 
dollars ;  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  fund  for  the  support  of  a 
Vice-President.  These  sums  have  been  on  interest,  and  have  been 
of  great  advantage  to  the  institution,  ever  since  the  period  above 
specified. 

The  venerable  Doctor  Elias  Boudinot,  lately  deceased,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death  the  oldest  trustee  of  the  college,  founded  in  the 
year  1805,  a  cabinet  of  Natural  History,  which  cost  the  sum  of  three 
thousand  dollars :  And  by  his  will,  he  has  added  to  his  former  boun- 
ty the  two  following  liberal  benefactions,  viz : — 1.  Four  thousand 
acres  of  land,  in  Luzerne  county,  Pennsylvania; — from  the  profits 
of  which  are  to  be  appropriated  one  thousand  dollars,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, for  the  improvement  of  the  cabinet  of  Natural  History ;  and 
the  residue  for  the  establishment  of  fellowships  in  the  college ;  so 
that  no  incumbent,  however,  be  allowed  more  than  tv/o  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  per  annum — 2.  After  his  daughter's  death,  ten  thousand 
dollars  to  the  trustees  of  the  college  ;  half  for  the  use  of  the  college, 
and  half  for  that  of  the  Theological  Seminary. 

The  Honorable  Charles  Fenton  Mercer,  added,  a  few  years 
since,  to  the  Philosophical  apparatus  of  the  college,  a  set  of  instru- 
ments and  articles  for  Galvanic  experiments,  of  great  use  and  value. 

Joseph  Pitcairn,  Ksq.  about  five  years  since,  presented  to  the 
college  the  splendid  and  expensive  Astronomical  Atlas  of  Bode ;  with 
the  author's  explanatory  remarks,  in  Latin,  French  and  German. 

Doctor  David  Hosack,  of  New-York,  an  alumnus  of  the  college, 
has  recently  laid  the  foundation  of  a  Mineralogical  cabinet,  by  the 
donation  of  about  a  thousand  valuable  specimens,  and  by  taking  on 
himself  the  expense  of  the  cases  in  which  they  are  exhibited  to  the 
greatest  advantage — He  has  also  generously  promised  to  continue  to 
make  additions  to  this  cabinet, 

Jonathan  Bayard  Smith,  Esq.  late  of  Philadelphia,  and  Samuel 
Bayard,  Esq.  of  Princeton,  New- Jersey,  alumni  of  the  college,  have 
made  the  largest  donations  to  the  library  ;  and  have  their  names  in- 
scribed over  the  compartment  of  shelves,  on  which  are  pla- 
ced the  volumes  which  they  have  presented — There  are,  however, 
many  other  donors  to  the  library,  whose  munificence  has  been  consi- 
derable, and  whom  it  would  be  gratifying  to  mention,  if  the  limits  to 
v/hich  the  author  is  confined  would  permit.  He  cannot,  however, 
forbear  to  remark,  that  the  college  has  been  recently  much  indebted 
to  authors  for  copies  of  their  works,  to  prmters  for  copies  of  new  pub- 


NOTES.  079 

lications,  and  to  private  gentlemen  for  some  exceedingly  valuable 
donations  of  books.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  thiit  the  institution  may  in- 
crease its  debt  of  gratitude  by  many  favours  of  a  similar  kind,  here- 
after to  be  received. 

It  may  possibly  be  thought,  by  some  who  are  not  well  acquainted 
with  the  nature  and  wants  of  publick  literary  institutions,  that  the 
preceding  statement  affords  evidence  that  the  endowments  of  the 
college  are  already  sufficiently  ample.  They  certainly  are  believed  to 
be  such,  as  to  afford  to  the  students  of  this  college  the  means  of  ac- 
quiring as  complete  a  course  of  academick  education,  as  can  be 
obtained  in  any  other  establishment  of  the  kind  in  our  country.  But 
it  should  be  observed  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  donations  to  the 
Vice-President's  fund,  all  the  endowments,  valuable  and  important 
as  they  are,  are  appropriated  to  increase  the  advantages  of  those 
who  receive  instruction,  and  not  to  the  support  of  those  who  g'we  it. 
In  providing  for  the  salaries  of  teachers,  as  well  as  for  the  erection 
and  repairs  of  buildings,  and  the  necessary  additions  to  the  Library 
and  Philosophical  Apparatus,  the  institution  has  but  little  aid,  except 
that  which  it  derives  from  the  fees  of  its  pupils.  This  not  only  im- 
poses the  necessity  of  keeping  the  number  of  professors  and  tutors 
so  small  as  to  renrlp**  their  labours  exceedingly  arduous,  but  ^■Is:*  of 
increasins  the  expense  to  the  students  of  the  college.  If  professor- 
ships, to  a  considerable  extent,  were  permanently  endowed,  the  fees 
for  instruction  might  be  greatly  reduced,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
course  of  education  considerably  improved.  This  is  what  the  college 
urgently  needs.  It  particularly  needs  the  endowment  of  the  following 
Professorships,  viz. — of  Classical  Literature;  of  Mathematicks  and 
Natural  Philosophy;  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History;  and  of 
Belles  Lettres.  The  endowment  of  any  one  of  these  Professorships 
would  be  of  unspeakable  benefit  to  the  institution. — The  donation  of 
a  sum  of  money  to  begin  a  fund,  to  which  additions  might  be  made 
by  other  donors,  for  the  ultimate  endowment  of  one  of  these  Profes- 
sorships, would  be  of  great  importance.  The  trustees  have  resolved, 
*'  That  if  any  person,  or  association  of  persons,  shall  give  the  sum 
necessary  for  the  establishment  of  a  professorship,  lectureship,  fel- 
lowship, scholarship,  exhibition  or  premium,  such  professorship,  lec- 
tureship, fellowship,  scholarship,  exhibition  or  premium,  shall  be 
called  after  the  name  of  the  donor." 


{q&o2) 


280  NOTES. 

NOTE  B—Page  22. 

In  this  note  it  is  proposed  to  give 

A  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Origin  of  the  College  of  New- Jersey ;  a 
statement  of  its  design  and  system  of  education ;  a  short  account  of 
the  Institution  under  the  administration  of  its  first  five  Presidents, 
and  a  Biographical  Notice  of  themselves. 

THE  College  of  New-Jersey  was  the  fourth  institution  of  the 
kind  established  within  the  present  limits  of  the  United  States. 
Those  which  preceded  it  were,  Harvard,  in  Massachusetts,  found- 
ed A.  D.  1638;  William  and  Mary,  in  Virginia,  in  1691;  and 
Yale,  in  Connecticut,  in  1701.  In  the  British  provinces  lying  between 
Connecticut  and  Virginia,  that  is,  in  New- York,  New- Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, the  lower  Counties  on  Delaware,  and  Maryland,  there  was 
not,  till  the  year  1746,  any  literary  institution  which  was  authorized 
to  confer  degrees  in  the  aiCb.  Within  some  of  these  provinces  there 
had  been,  indeed,  for  many  years,  several  ctuadcrmies  or  grammar 
schools,  in  which,  to  a  certain  extent,  education  had  been  well  con- 
ducted, and  a  few  excellent  classical  scholars  had  been  formed;  but 
there  was  no  institution  in  which  what  is  now  considered  a  full  course 
of  liberal  education  could  be  obtained,  or  its  honours  be  conferred. 

In  this  state  of  things,  it  is  natural  to  suppose,  not  only  that  there 
would  be  many  individuals  who  would  be  very  desirous  to  have  a 
college  nearer  to  them  than  any  wliich  had  already  been  founded, 
but  that  each  of  the  provinces,  in  which  there  was  no  college,  would 
regard  it  as  an  object  of  considerable  importance  to  be  before  the  rest 
in  establishing  one  within  its  own  territory.  The  fact  undoubtedly 
corresponded  with  what  it  was  thus  natural  to  exj^ect.  The  existence 
of  a  college  within  its  limits  was  considered  by  every  province  as 
highly  desirable;  as  an  honourable  distinction  in  itself;  as  advantage- 
ous to  its  inhabitants,  by  affording  facilities  for  the  education  of  their 
own  youth  ;  and  as  a  source  of  some  pecuniary  emolument,  from  the 
expenditures  of  youth  drawn  to  it  from  the  neighbouring  provinces, 
for  the  purposes  of  education. 

But  beside  the  difficulty  of  procuring  both  funds  and  teachers  for 
a  literary  establishment,  in  settlements  still  in  their  infancy,  a  char- 
ter for  such  an  establishment  was  not  then  easily  obtained.  The 
interests  and  views  of  the  court,  in  the  mother  country,  were  always 
to  be  consulted  on  such  an  occasion,  and  they  often  militated  with 


NOTES.  281 

the  interests  and  wishes  of  the  colonies.    The  operation  of  these 
causes,  appears  to  have  prevented  the  founding  of  any  college,  in  the 
British  provinces  intervening  between  Connecticut  and  Virginia,  for 
the  space  of  five  and  forty  years.    That  New-Jersey  was,  eventu- 
ally, the  province  in  which  the  fourth  college  was  established,  must 
be  attributed  entirely  to  incidental  circumstances.    For  the  reasons 
already  assigned,  the  better  informed  part  of  the  community  were 
doubtless  willing  to   countenance  and  aid    such    an   institution ;  so 
far  as  this  could  be  done  without  interfering  with  considerations  of 
a  more  commanding  character.    But  such  considerations  existed. 
Court  influence,  on  the  one  hand,  and  an  ardent  spirit  of  liberty  and 
independence,  on  the  other,  with  controversies  relative  to  proprietary 
claims,  had  split  the  province  into  violent  parties,  in  the  conflicts  of 
"which  the  general  good  was  often  forgotten  or  disregarded ;  and  it 
uras  enough  to  insure  the  rejection  of  almost  any  measure  by  one 
party,  if  it  had  been  proposed,  or  was  favoured  by  another.  In  these 
circumstances,  the  College  of  New- Jersey  traces  its  origin  to  the  in- 
Jluence  of  religion. 

In  the  year  1741,  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  representing  the 
"whole  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  British  provinces,  after  an  ardent 
controversy  among  its  members,  of  some  years  continuance,  was  un- 
happily rent  in  sunder.  The  causes  of  this  rent,  it  is  not  necessary, 
in  this  place,  particularly  to  explain.  It  may  be  sufl&cient  to  state, 
that  two  rival  Synods  were  formed ;  that  much  acrimony  was  mani- 
fested on  both  sides ;  that  the  Synod  of  New- York,  reproached  that 
of  Philadelphia,  with  introducing  men  to  the  gospel  ministry  with- 
out a  due  regard  to  their  personal  piety ;  and  that  the  Synod  of 
Philadelphia  recriminated,  by  charging  that  of  New-York  with  fa- 
vouring enthusiasm,  and  with  licensing  men  to  preach  the  gospel 
without  adequate  literary  attainments.  It  ought  also  to  be  noted, 
that  the  clergy  of  the  Synod  of  New-York  were,  to  a  man,  the  warm 
friends  and  coadjutors  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  heretofore  mentioned;  and 
that  those  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  were  generally,  if  not  uni- 
versally, his  decided  opposers. 

The  members  of  these  rival  bodies  were,  by  their  local  residence, 
mingled,  in  some  measure,  with  each  other.  In  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania,  there  was  perhaps  nearly  an  equal  number  of  the 
members  of  each  of  the  Synods.  Yet  they  were,  in  a  considerable 
degree,  geographically  separated.  The  mass  of  the  Synod  of  Phila- 
delphia lay  to  the  West,  and  that  of  the  Synod  of  New- York  to  the 
East  of  the  Delaware  river.  In  the  province  of  New-Jersey  it  is  not 
l^nown  that  there  was  a  single  clergyman  who  belonged  to  the  Synod 


282  NOTES. 

of  Philadelphia.  The  whole  Presbyterian  population  of  the  province 
was  under  the  care  and  direction  of  the  Synod  of  New-  York,  and 
zealously  attached  to  its  ministers  and  its  measures. 

Both  Synods,  from  the  time  of  their  separation,  made  strenuous 
exertions  to  educate  youth  for  the  gospel  ministry ;  not  only  from 
the  laudable  desire  of  extending  the  blessings  of  the  gospel  to  those 
who,  in  every  direction,  were  then  destitute  of  them,  but  also  from 
the  less  commendable  motive  of  strengthening  and  extending  each 
its  own  party.  Thus  circumstanced  and  disposed,  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  the  members  of  the  Synod  of  New-York  would  endea- 
vour to  organize  their  plans  of  education,  in  a  province  where  their 
peculiar  views  were  prevalent  and  popular.  New-Jersey  was, 
their  undisputed  territory;  and  here,  if  any  where,  they  might 
hope  to  found  an  institution  in  which  all  their  wishes  might  be  real- 
ized. It  happened  also  that  in  this  province  the  ablest  champions  of 
their  cause,  and  the  man  of  their  Synod  who,  in  all  respects,  was  the 
best  qualified  to  superintend  and  conduct  the  education  of  youth,  had 
his  residence.  This  was  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  of  Elizabeth- 
Town,  of  whom  notice  has  already  been  taken. 

Nor  ought  it  to  pass  without  observation,  that  the  members  of  the 
Synod  of  New- York  were  sensible  that  there  was  a  degree  of  truth 
in  the  charge  of  their  opponents,  that  they  had  introduced  into  the 
ministry  some  men  whose  literary  attainments  vv^ere  of  an  inferior 
order.  They  believed  and  maintained  that  they  were  justified  in 
what  they  had  already  done  by  the  necessities  of  the  country,  and 
by  the  loud  demand  for  preachers  of  the  gospel.  But  they  earnestly 
desired  to  remove  the  necessity  for  such  a  measure  in  future:  and  to 
free  themselves  from  a  charge  which  was  calculated  to  diminish  their 
respectability  and  influence. 

Urged  and  encouraged  by  the  motives  and  circumstances  which 
have  now  been  explained,  the  members  of  the  Synod  of  New- York 
resolved  to  make  a  united  and  strenuous  effort  to  found  a  college  in 
the  province  of  New-Jersey.  But  although  their  influence  was  con- 
siderable, and  their  exertions  unwearied,  the  object  which  they 
sought  v/as  not  easily  or  speedily  attained.  The  Presbyterians  were 
always  objects  of  jealousy  to  the  court  party,  from  their  known  at- 
tachment to  principles  and  measures  which  that  party  did  not  ap- 
prove. A  large  proportion  also  of  the  population  of  the  province  con- 
sisted of  other  denominations,  who  took  no  interest  in  the  feelings  and 
wishes  of  Presbyterians,  and  in  some  respects  were  even  hostile  to 
them.  Yet  their  unanimity,  and  zeal,  and  perseverance,  aided  by  the 
consideration  that  it  would,  confessedly,  be  both  honourable  and  ad- 
vantageous to  have  a  college  within  the  province,  eventually  prevaileij. 


NOTES.  28S 

Complete  success,  however,  was  not  obtained  at  once.    The  present 
charter  of  the  college  is  not  that  which  was  first  granted. 

In  Smith's  history  of  New-Jersey,  it  is  stated,  that  "  President 
Hamilton  gave  a  charter  for  a  college  in  1747,  which  was  enlarged 
by  Governor  Belcher,  in  1748."  The  first  mentioned  date  in  this 
statement,  it  will  soon  appear,  is  materially  incorrect.  Finding,  in- 
deed, no  recognition  or  intimation  of  a  charter,  previously  to  1748, 
either  in  the  records  of  tlic  college,  or  in  a  history  of  the  institution 
written  by  Doctor  Finley,  and  published  in  1764,  the  autlior  was  led 
seriously  to  doubt,  or  rather  entirely  to  disbelieve,  that  such  a  char- 
ter had  ever  an  existence.  But  in  a  conversation  on  the  subject  with 
the  late  Doctor  Boudinot,  a  few  months  before  his  death,  he  assured 
the  writer  that  such  a  charter  had  been  granted,  and  that  Mr.  Dick- 
inson  had  acted  under  it,  as  president  of  the  college.  On  an  intima- 
tion given  in  the  same  conversation  that  the  ancient  records  of  the 
province  would  probably  be  found  to  contain  a  copy  of  this  charter, 
the  author  engaged  his  friend,  Charles  Ewing,  Esq.  of  Trenton,  a 
trustee  of  the  college,  to  make  a  thorough  investigation.  This  he 
ver>'  kindly  did,  and  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  that  gen- 
tleman will  best  explain  the  result. 

"  I  have  to  day  carefully  examined  all  the  ancient  books  of 
records  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  which  are  there  sup- 
posed, by  any  possibility,  to  contain  a  record  of  the  charter  imder 
President  Hamilton.  All  I  have  found  is  an  entry  in  the  following 
words — 

"  Mem.  of  a  charter  for  a  col-  ^         A  charter  to  incorporate  sun- 
ledge,  dry  persons  to  found  a  coUcdge, 

passed  the  great  seal  of  this 
province  of  New-Jersey,  tested 
I  by  John  Hamilton,  Esq.  Presi- 
dent of  His  Majesty's  Council 
and  commander  in  Chief  of  the 
Pix)vince  of  New-Jersey ,the  22d 
October,  1746." 

This  entiy  is  made  in  book  C.  of  commissions,  charters,  &c.  page 
137— the  same  book  in  which,  at  page  196,  the  charter  under  Gov- 
crnour  Belcher  is  recorded. 

This  entry  fully  establishes  the  fact  that  a  charter  under  Presi- 
dent Hamilton  was  granted.  But  I  am  fully  satisfied  from  the 
search  I  have  made,  that  it  is  not  recorded  at  length  in  the  books  of 
fhe  Secretary's  o©ce.     Why  it  was  not  recorded  can  be  now,  per- 


284  NOTES. 

haps,  only  the  subject  of  conjecture.  Recording  it,  was,  I  presume, 
not  necessary  to  give  it  validity  ;  but  only  to  preserv^e  evidence  of 
its  existence,  in  case  of  loss  of  the  original  instrument.  The  foun- 
ders may  have  hoped  to  procure  a  more  liberal  charter,  therefore 
left  that  already  obtained  unrecorded  :  and  they  may  have  accom- 
plished their  wishes  under  Governour  Belcher.  This  conjecture 
finds  some  support  in  the  passage  from  Smith's  history — "  enlarged 
under  Governour  Belcher.'*  The  charter  of  1748  was  not  recorded 
until  4th  October,  1750,  as  appears  by  the  entry  in  the  margin  of 
the  book  where  it  is  recorded." 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  conjecture  is  well  founded, 
which  is  expressed  in  the  foregoing  extract,  that  the  founders  of  the 
college  under  the  first  charter  forbore  to  record  this  instrument, 
because  "  they  hoped  to  procure  a  more  liberal  charter."  Not  only 
from  their  omitting  to  record  what  they  obtained,  but  from  their 
studied  silence,  subsequently,  in  regard  to  the  whole  subject,  there 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  they  were  much  dissatisfied  with  the 
instrument  in  question ;  that  it  both  contained  restrictions  which 
they  disliked,  and  omitted  to  grant  privileges  which  they  wished  to 
enjoy  ;  and  that  after  their  wishes  were  gratified,  they  were  willing 
and  desirous  to  consign  this  first  charter  to  perpetual  oblivion.  As 
it  was  granted  in  less  than  a  year  before  the  accession  of  Belcher  to 
the  chair  of  government  in  the  province,  which  was  then  vacant,  it 
is  highly  probable  that  this  accession  w^as  with  them,  at  the  time,  a 
matter  of  full  expectation  ;  and  that  from  their  knowledge  of  his 
character  and  views,  they  hoped  to  obtain,  through  his  instrumental- 
ity, all  that  they  desired.  It  was,  however,  only  under  this  first 
charter  that  Mr.  Dickinson  acted  as  president  of  the  college ;  for  he 
died  October  7th,  1747,  within  a  year  after  it  was  granted  ;  and 
nearly  a  year  before  the  present  charter,  dated  September  14th, 
1748,  was  obtained  from  his  Majesty  King  George  II,  by  the  agency 
of  Governor  Belcher.  Willing  as  the  original  trustees  were  that 
the  first  charter  should  be  forgotten,  they  always,  and  properly, 
claimed  and  registered  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  as  the  first 
president  of  the  college.  There  was  probably  no  individual  whose 
jf    influence,  so  much  as  his,  contributed  to  bring  it  into  existence. 

It  was  not  the  language  of  flattery,  or  empty  ceremonial,  but  of 
sincerity  and  ardent  feeling,  when  the  original  tmstees  under  the 
present  charter  of  the  college,  said  in  their  first  address  to  Governor 
Belcher — '*  We  have  often  adored  that  wise  and  gracious  Provi-' 
dence,  which  has  placed  your  Excellency  in  the  chief  scat  of  gov- 
ernment in  this  province,  and  have  taken  our  part  with  multitudes 
in  congratulating  Kew-Jcrsey  upon  that  occasion."     No  event  in 


NOTES.  285 

providcHce  eould  have  more  entirely  corresponded  with  the  wishes 
and  prayers  of  these  excellent  men,  than  the  appointment  of  Gover- 
nor Belcher,  at  the  time  it  took  place.  His  sentiments  and  views 
accorded  in  all  respects  with  their  own.  He  was  a  man  of  fervent 
piety,  an  avowed  friend  and  patron  of  Mr.  Whitefield,  an  ardent 
lover  of  learning,  and  therefore  an  advocate  for  a  learned  as  well  as 
a  pious  ministry,  a  decided  whig  both  in  principle  and  action,  and,  to 
crown  all,  he  was  as  zealously  disposed  to  establish  a  college  in  the 
province,  as  any  of  those  who  had  so  long  been  labouring  to  effect  it. 
He,  also  happened  to  be  high  in  the  favour  and  confidence  of  the 
reigning  family  in  Britain  ;  from  whom  he  had  early  received  to- 
kens of  particular  regard,  and  recently,  as  the  expression  of  it,  the 
very  appointment  by  which  he  was  constituted  governor  of  the 
province.  That  a  liberal  charter  for  a  college  would,  in  these  cir- 
cumstances, be  speedily  obtained,  there  was  no  reason  to  doubt. 
Accordingly  it  appears  that  the  preparation  of  such  a  charter,  under 
which  the  college  of  New- Jersey  now  holds  its  privileges,  must  have 
been — ns  in  a  former  note  we  have  seen  he  states  it  to  have  been — 
among  the  first  acts  of  Belcher's  administration.  He  came  into  of- 
fice in  1747,  and  the  charter,  as  already  observed,  is  dated  in  Sep- 
tember 1748.  In  the  mean  time,  as  it  is  given  in  the  name  of  the 
king,  and  purports  throughout  to  be  his  immediate  act,  it  must, 
according  to  the  established  usage  in  such  cases,  have  been  trans- 
mitted to  England,  there  have  been  considered  and  approved  by 
the  king  in  council,  and  afterwards  returned  to  this  country.  And 
as  all  this  must  have  taken  place  in  about  a  year  and  a  half,  there 
could  have  been  no  delay  in  preparing  the  insti-uraent  for  such  a 
process. 

The  length  of  this  charter  forbids  its  insertion,  entire,  in  these 
notes.  Nor  is  it  necessary — Several  editions  of  it  have  been  print- 
ed, and  widely  circulated.  Copies  of  it,  in  a  pamphlet  form,  are 
retained  by  the  college,  for  gratuitous  distribution  to  all  who  may 
wish  to  examine  it.  Some  important  extracts  from  it  will  soon 
claim  the  attention  of  the  reader. 

Thus,  then,  it  appears,  agreeably  to  the  intimation  already  given, 
that  the  origin  of  the  College  of  New-Jersey  is  to  be  traced  to  thir 
injlucnce  of  religion.  A  portion  of  the  clergy  and  laity  of  the  Pre.-- 
byterian  church,  with  a  leading  view  to  increase  the  number  and  thf 
literary  qualifications  of  candidates  for  the  gospel  ministry,  iv.inlr. 
exertions  which  otherwise  would  probably  never  have  been  niade, 
and  continued  them,  notwithstanding  many  difficulties  and  aiscoiir- 
agements,  till  they  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  college,  wliicli, 
hut  for  these  exertions,  there  is  no  probability  would  the/i,havc  bcea 


2S6  NOTES. 

founded.  The  zeal  of  Governor  Belcher  appears  to  have  been 
prompted  by  the  very  same  motives  which  influenced  those  t« 
whom  the  charter  was  granted.  But  on  the  supposition  that,  with- 
out these  motives,  he  might  have  been  disposed  to  establish  a  college, 
stin  the  history  of  the  province  will  show  to  any  one  who  shall  con- 
sult it,  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  circumstances  which  have  bee» 
explained,  it  would  scarcely  have  been  possible  for  him  to  execute 
his  purpose  ; — he  would  have  found  none  to  enter  with  earnestness 
and  activity  on  the  prosecution  of  such  an  enterprise.  What  he  did 
in  fact,  was,  with  great  readiness  and  pleasure,  to  give  effect  to  ex- 
ertions which  had  been  making,  in  the  face  of  much  opposition  and 
discouragement,  for  nearly  seven  years  before  he  came  into  office. 

The  design^  as  well  as  the  origin,  of  this  institution,  is  manifest 
from  the   statement  that  has  been  made.     It  is  apparent,  not  only 
from  the  motives  which  so  pov/erfully  influenced  those  who  first 
projected  the  college,  and  who  laboured  so  long  and  earnestly  to 
establish  it,  but  from  the  express  and  repeated  declarations  of  Gov- 
ernor Belcher  in  his  replies  to  the  addresses  of  the  original  trustees, 
which  may  be  seen  in  a  former  note,  that  this  institution  was  intend- 
ed, by  all  the  parties  concerned  in  founding  it,  to  be  one  in  which 
religion  and  learning  should  be  unitedly  cultivated,   in  all  time  to 
come.      This  ought  never  to  be  forgotten — it  ought  ever  to  be  sa- 
credly regarded.      There  is  scarcely  any  thing  more  unrighteous  in 
itself,  or  more  injurious  to  society,  than  disregarding  and  perverting 
the  design  of  the  founders  of  charitable,  religious,  or  literary  institu- 
tions.      It  is  dcdng  base  injustice  to  the  dead,  and  at  the  same  time 
presenting  a  powerful  and  often  an  effectual  discouragement  to  those 
among  the  living,   who  might,  otherwise,  make  exertions,  and  be- 
stow their  property,  to  found  and  endow  establishments  of  the  great- 
est publick  utility.       It  is  hoped  that  the  guardians  of  Nassau-Hall 
will  forever  keep  in  mind,  that  the  design  of  its  foundation  would  be 
perverted,  if  religion  should  ever  be  cultivated  in  it  to  the  neglect  of 
science,  or  science  to  the  neglect  of  religion — If,  on  the  one  hand,  it 
■should  be  converted  into  a  religious  house,  like  a  Monastery  or  a 
Theological  Seminary,  in  which  religious  instmction  should  claim, 
almost  exclusively,  the  attention  of  every  pupil ;    or  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  should  become  an  establishment  in  which  science  should  be 
taught,  how  perfectly  soever,  without  connecting  with  it,  and  con- 
stantly  endeavouring  to   inculcate,  the  principles   and  practice  of 
genuine  piety.     "Whatever  other  institutions  may  exist  or  arise  in 
our  country,  in  which  religion  and  science  may  be  separated  from 
each  other  by  their  instructors  or  governors,  this  institution,  without 
a  gross  perversion  of  its  original  design,  can  never  be  one. 


'4 


.f 


.  NOTES.  fi87 

From  the  facts  and  statements  now  in  the  view  of  the  reader,  it  is 
not  unknown  to  the  author,  that  inferences  and  representations,  unfa- 
vourable to  the  college,  have  sometimes  been  made.  He  determin- 
ed, however,  that  this  should  not  prevent  his  giving  a  fair  and  full 
account  of  its  origin  and  design ;  that  others,  who  may  hereafter 
•wish  to  know  them,  may  not  experience  the  difficulty  he  has  found 
in  collecting  information — favourably  situated  as  he  has  been  for  the 
purpose,  and  living  within  eighty  years  of  the  remotest  period  to 
which  his  inquiries  have  extended.  Accordingly,  nothing  has  been, 
intentionally,  either  coloured  or  withheld.  He  is  satisfied,  moreo- 
ver, that  there  is  nothing  which  the  friends  of  the  college  should  de- 
sire to  conceal ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  must  be  advantageous, 
and  not  injurious  to  tlie  institution,  that  the  truth  should  be  fully 
known.  He  is  persuaded  that  it  may  easily  be  shown,  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  evejy  candid  mind,  that  the  unfavourable  inferences 
iind  representations  to  which  he  has  alluded,  arc  without  any  sup- 
port from  truth  and  fact;  the  offspring  of  misapprehension  in  some 
instances,  and  of  hostility  in  others.  On  some  of  the  mistakes  and 
misrepresentations  contemplated,  he  will  now  take  the  liberty  to  re- 
mark. 

It  has  been  represented  that  this  college  is  a  sectarian  institution  ; 
that  the  peculiar  dogmas  of  the  Presbyterian  church  arc  inculcated 
in  it ;  that  youth  of  that  denomination  are  the  objects  of  particular 
regard  and  favour ;  and  that  there  is  reason  to  apprehend  that  youth 
of  other  denominations,  if  sent  for  education  to  this  institution,  may 
be  proselyted  from  the  religion  of  their  parents.  Now,  it  is  unhesi- 
tatingly affirmed  that  any  apprehensions  or  representations  of  this 
description  are  absolutely  groundless. 

Let  it  be  well  observed,  that  although  the  college  was  founded  by 
the  exertions  and  influence  of  Presbytcnans,  it  never  was  intended 
to  be  an  institution  in  which  the  pupils  of  that  sect  should  be  more 
favoured  than  those  of  any  other ;  nor  has  the  author  heard  that  any 
specific  example  of  such  partiality  has  ever  been  so  much  as  al- 
ledged.  And  when  no  specifications  are  made,  it  is  not  practicable, 
and  therefore  not  reasonably  expected,  that  he  who  makes  a  defence 
should  attempt  formally  to  prove  that  a  general  charge  is  not  true  ; 
that  is,  to  prove  a  negative.  A  charge  which  is  unattended  by  proof 
or  specification,  is  generally  and  justly  suspected  of  springing  from 
malignity,  and  not  from  the  love  of  tinith.  In  such  a  case,  all  tluat 
remains,  in  making  a  defence,  is  distinctly  to  state  and  assert  the 
truth,  with  the  facts  and  circumstances  which  go  to  establish  it ; 
and  then  to  claim  the  common  privilege  that  innocence  shall  be  pre- 
sumed till  crinjinality  shall  be  proved. 


288  NOTES, 

The  autlior  then  asserts,  that  if  the  Presbytei-ians  have  derived 
more  benefit  from  the  college  than  those  of  other  religious  denomi- 
nations, it  has  been  solely  because  they  have  sent  more  pupils  to  it. 
That  this  was  likely  to  be  the  case,  at  least  for  a  time,  was  known 
when  the  charter  was  granted  ;  and  to  this  alone  is  there  an  allusion 
in  the  page  preceding  that  from  which  there  is  a  reference  to  this 
note.      Had  all  the  Presbyterians  in  the  province  of  New- Jersey,  or 
in  all  the  British  provinces  collectively,   with  Governor  Belcher's 
court  influence  to  aid  them,  petitioned  the  king  in  council  to  grant  a 
charter  exclusively,  or  avowedly  Presbyterian,  there  is  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  their  suit  would  have  been  rejected  with  disdain.     To  be 
fully  tolerated,  was   the  utmost  that  this  denomination  then  expect- 
ed ;    and  to  be  allowed  an  institution  of  which  its  members  should 
have,  in  fact,  the  principal  management,  but  which  should  be  at  all 
times  as  fully  open  to  all  other  sects  as  to  their  own,  was  considered 
and  received  as  a  precious  boon.       Nor  is  there  the  least  evidence 
that  either  Governor  Belcher,  or  the  original  trustees,  indulged  a 
wish  for  more  than  they  obtained.       They  were  men  of  truly  liberal 
minds,  and  the   professed  and   ardent  advocates  of    equal  rights. 
They  did  not  desire  any  thing  exclusive,  but  only  to  have  a  fair  op- 
portunity to  prosecute  their  own  views,  while  the  same  privilege 
should  be  as  fully  conceded  to  others  as  possessed  by  themselves. 
This  is  evident  from  the  tenour  of  their  petition  for  the  charter,  as 
recited  in  the  instrument  itself,  in  the  following  words — "  The  said 
petitioners  have  also  expressed  their  earnest  desire,  that  those  of 
every  religious  denomination  may  have  free  and  equal  liberty  and 
advantages  of  education  in  the  said  college  ;  any  different  sentiments 
in  religion  notwithstanding."       Agreeably  to  this  expression  of  the 
"  earnest  desire"  of  the  petitioners,  we  find  it  afterwards  ordained 
thus — "  And  we  do  farther,  of  our  special  grace,  certain  knowledge 
and  mere  motion,  v/ill,  give  and  grant,  and  by  these  presents  do  for 
us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  will,  give  and  grant,  unto  the  said  trus- 
tees of  the  College  of  New-Jersey,  that  they  and  their  successors, 
or  the  major  part  of  any  thirteen  of  them,  which  shall  convene  for 
that  purpose  above  directed,  may  make,  and  they  are  hereby  fully 
empowered  from  time  to  time,  freely  and  lawfully  to  make  and  es- 
tablish such  ordinances,  orders  and  laws,  as  may  tend  to  the  good 
and  wholesome  government  of  the  said  college,  and  all  the  students 
and  the   several  oflicers  and  ministers  thereof,  and  to  the  publick. 
benefit  of  the  same  ;    not  repugnant  to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  our 
realm  of  Great  Britain,  or  of  this  our  province  of  New-Jersey  ;  and 
not  excluding  any  person  of  any  religious  denomination  whatsoever 
from  free  and  equal  liberty  and  advantage  of  education,  er  from  any 


NOTES.  289 

of  the  liberties,  privileges  or  immunities  of  the  said  college,  on  ac- 
count of  his  or  their  being  of  a  religious  profession  different  from  the 
said  trustees  of  the  said  college ;  and  such  ordinances,  orders  and 
laws,  which  shtll  be  so  as  aforesaid  made,  we  do,  by  these  presents, 
for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  ratify,  allow  of  and  confirm,  as  good 
and  effectual,  to  oblige  and  bind  all  the  said  students  and  the  several 
officers  and  ministers  of  the  said  college,  and  we  do  hereby  authorizt 
and  empower  the  said  trustees  of  the  college,  and  the  president,  tu- 
tors and  professors  by  them  elected  and  appointed,  to  put  such  ordi- 
nances and  laws  in  execution,  to  all  proper  intents  and  purposes." 

It  is  confidently  believed  that  this  provision  of  the  charter  has 
never  been  violated,  either  in  the  spirit  or  the  letter. 

It  certainly  has  been  no  violation  that  the  majority  of  the  board  of 
trustees  has  always  been  of  the  Presbyterian  denomination;  for  of 
that  denomination,  as  far  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  was  every  indi- 
vidual who  was  named  and  appointed  in  the  charter  itself.  Their 
successors,  notwithstanding,  have  not  all  been  of  that  denomination. 
At  a  very  early  period,  a  clergyman  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  and,  shortly  after,  two  members  of  the  Dutch  Church,  were 
elected  to  supply  the  vacancies  produced  by  death  or  resignation. 
At  a  later  period,  the  writer  himself  acted  in  the  board,  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  in  succession,  with  a  distinguished  clergyman  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  now  living ;  who  eventually  resigned  his  seat,  on 
account  of  the  inconvenience  to  himself,  of  attending  the  meetings  of 
the  corporation.  The  late  excellent  and  venerated  Judge  Wallace, 
of  the  same  denomination,  was,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  one  of 
the  most  active  and  influential  members  of  this  corporation,  and  held 
his  seat  till  the  time  of  his  death.  But  will  any  one  affirm  that  it  is, 
in  any  respect,  illiberal,  for  the  denomination  that  did  actually  found 
the  institution,  and  from  which  its  principal  support  has  always  been 
derived,  to  retain  a  majority  of  its  own  members  in  the  board  of  trust  ? 
Is  it  not,  on  the  contrary,  highly  illiberal  and  unreasonable  ever  to 
complain  of  this  ?  Is  there  any  other  denomination  that  would,  or 
that  ought,  to  do  otherwise  ?  Is  not  almost  every  college  in  our  coun- 
try, in  fact,  under  the  prevalent  influence  of  some  one  religious  sect  ? 
And  is  not  this,  on  the  whole,  advantageous,  as  promoting  that  unity 
of  design  and  that  harmony  in  conducting  the  concerns  of  a  literary 
institution,  without  which  it  can  never  prosper  ? 

And  as  there  has  been  nothing  unconstitutional  or  unfair  in  the 
choice  of  trustees,  so,  it  is  believed,  that  the  administration  under 
them,  in  regard  to  the  subject  of  religion,  has  been  equally  unexcep- 
tionable. The  president  of  the  college,  to  whom  the  religious  in- 
struction of  the  youth  has  always  been  specially  committed,  having^, 

PS 


•^ 


£90  NOTES. 

in  all  time  past,  been  a  Presbyterian  Clergyman,  the  publick  wor- 
ship on  which  the  students  have  attended  has,  of  course,  been  cele- 
brated according  to  the  order  and  usages  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
But  it  is  believed  that,  from  the  foundation  of  the  college  to  the  pre- 
sent hour,  there  has  not  been  a  discourse  delivered  that  could,  with 
any  shew  of  justice,  be  denominated  sectarian.  So  far  as  the  author 
may  be  allowed  to  judge,  he  can  most  unreservedly  declare  that  he 
has  never  heard  one.  The  discourses  in  this  volume  afford  a  fair 
specimen  of  the  doctrine  and  style  of  address  which  have  character- 
ized the  sermons  which  he  has  constantly  delivered.  Nor  has  he 
heard  any  thing  that  savoured  of  Presbyterianism,  more  than  will  be 
perceived  in  these  discourses,  from  the  professors  of  the  Theological 
Seminary,  who,  for  several  years  past,  have  alternated  with  him,  in 
performing  the  publick  service  of  the  sanctuary. 

It  ought  to  be  mentioned  here,  that  although  the  president  of  the 
college  has  always  been  a  Presbyterian,  the  tutors  have,  in  several 
instances,  been  of  other  denominations.  Two  clergymen,  now  living, 
of  great  eminence  in  the  Episcopal  church,  after  finishing  their  aca- 
demical studies  in  the  college,  sustained  the  office  of  tutor  in  it,  for 
two  or  three  years;  a  period  as  long  as  that  office  is  usually  held  by 
any  individual. 

In  every  institution  there  must  be  an  established  course  of  instruc- 
tion. It  is  impossible  to  teach  either  science  or  religion  without  it. 
In  forming  such  a  course,  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth  of  this  col- 
lege in  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  religion,  the  greatest  care  has 
always  been  taken  to  make  it,  and  to  keep  it,  as  free  as  possible  from 
sectarian  peculiarities.  This  course  is  publickly  and  fully  known» 
and  if  parents  think  it  exceptionable,  they  must  be  expected  not  to 
send  their  children  to  the  college,  or  to  withdraw  them  afterwards. 
An  objection  on  this  ground  has,  however,  very  rarely  occurred. 
Two  instances  only  have  been  known  to  the  writer ;  one  under  the 
administration  of  his  immediate  predecessor,  and  the  other  under  his 
own.  In  the  one  case,  the  parent  insisted  that  his  son  should  have 
nothing  taught,  or  said  to  him,  on  the  subject  of  religion;  in  the  oth- 
er, it  was  made  indispensable  that  the  pupil  should  not  study  the  ev- 
idences of  the  christian  religion.  In  both  cases  the  pupils  were  with- 
drawn, and  without  any  objection  or  censure  from  the  government  of 
the  college.  The  course  of  instruction  pursued  at  present,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  past,  is  the  following  :  The  youth  are  taught,  from 
the  treatises  of  Paley,  the  principles  of  Natural  religion,  and  the  evi- 
dences of  revealed  truth  ;  they  commit  to  memory  the  catechism,  or 
creed,  of  the  church  to  which  their  parents  belong  ;  they  read  and 
recite  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  and  they  attend  publick  worship  on  the 


NOTES.  291 

morning  of  the  sabbath,  in  the  prayer  hall,  or  chapel,  of  the  college. 
The  recitations  on  Paley  are  taken  on  secular  days  ;  the  other  exer- 
cises arc  all  performed  on  the  sabbath.  The  regular  devotional  ex- 
ercises are,  morning  and  evening  prayers,  daily  ;  and  the  publick 
worship  already  specified.  The  days  of  thanksgiving  and  of  fasting, 
publickly  recommended,  are  also  observed.  Every  thing  of  a  devo- 
tional kind,  more  than  this,  is  a  matter  of  voluntary  choice  with  eve- 
ry pupil.  A  publick  religious  lecture  is  delivered  on  every  Thursday 
evening,  on  which  such  students  as  are  disposed  give  their  attendance ; 
but  without  any  censure,  expressed  or  implied,  on  those  who  choose 
to  be  absent.  Different  opinions  may,  no  doubt,  be  formed  on  what 
is  sectarian  zeal,  and  on  what  is  an  undue  proportion  of  religious  in- 
struction, in  a  course  of  liberal  education.  But  the  infonnation  ne- 
cessary to  form  a  judgment  on  these  points,  in  regard  to  what  takes 
place  in  the  college  of  New-Jersey,  is  fairly  furnished  in  this  state- 
ment. 

Before  the  establishment  of  a  Theological  Seminary  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  college,  graduates  who  were  preparing  for  the 
gospel  minist'.v,  frequently  pursued  their  theological  studies  under 
the  direction  of  the  president,  or  of  a  theological  professor ;  and 
these  theological  students  were  not  seldom  of  different  sects.  The 
study  of  Theology,  with  a  view  to  the  ministerial  ofTice,  is  no  longer 
pursued  in  the  college,  but  only  in  the  Seminary. 

From  the  circumstance,  probably,  that  these  two  institutions  are 
situated  within  the  limits  of  the  same  town,  it  has  often  been  suppo- 
sed, at  a  distance,  that  they  are  only  different  parts  of  the  same  es- 
tablishment. But  this  is  altogether  a  mistake.  The  Seminary  has 
no nece««ary  connexion  with  the  college  of  New- Jersey,  more  than 
with  any  other  college  in  the  United  States.  The  two  institutions 
are,  in  their  nature,  design  and  government  totally  distinct.  For  the 
sake  of  mutual  convenience  and  advantage,  the  trustees  of  the  col- 
lege and  the  directors  of  the  seminary  have  entered  into  several  stip- 
ulations with  each  other ;  and  the  pupils  of  both  institutions,  on  the 
morning  of  the  sabbath,  worship  together,  in  the  chapel  of  the  col- 
lege. But  there  are  no  stipulations,  or  other  circumstances,  which 
would  prevent  the  Seminary  being  removed  to  any  other  place,  if 
such  a  removal  should  at  any  time  be  judged  expedient.  Consider- 
ing the  connexion  in  which  these  remarks  have  been  introduced,  it 
seems  but  justice  to  add,  that  although  the  Seminary  is  professedly 
a  Presbyterian  institution,  the  study  of  theology  has  been  conducted 
in  it  on  such  liberal  principles,  that  it  has  numbered  several  Episco- 
palians, Baptists  and  Lutherans,  among  its  pupils. 

In  regard  to  the  making  of  proselytes,  the  aut^ior,  who  has  known 


/ 


29£  NOTES. 

the  college  intimately  for  nearly  forty  years,  more  than  half  the  pe- 
riod of  its  existence,  does  most  explicitly  affirm  that  he  has  never 
known  or  heard  of  an  attempt  to  make  one  ;  or  that  one  has  actually 
been  made.  He  can  recollect  but  one  instance  of  a  student  who 
changed  the  religious  denomination  of  his  parents ;  and  this  was  at- 
tended with  circumstances  which,  supposing  them  to  have  taken 
place,  would  have  produced  the  change,  if  he  had  never  seen  the 
college.  This  note  will  probably  meet  the  eye  of  a  beloved  pupil, 
who,  on  becoming  practically  pious  during  his  collegiate  course,  seri- 
ously requested  the  author  to  give  him  advice,  in  regard  to  the  reli- 
gious denomination  with  which  he  should  form  a  connexion.  He  was 
told  that  this  was  a  point  on  which  the  author  had  no  advice  to  give  ; 
that  he  was  earnestly  desirous  to  see  all  his  pupils  christians,  in  tem- 
per, heart  and  practice,  as  well  as  in  name  ;  but  that  seeing  them 
thus,  he  must  leave  it  entirely  to  themselves  and  their  friends,  to  de- 
cide with  what  religious  communion  they  would  most  properly  asso* 
ciate.  The  matter  was  thus  left;  and  this  pupil  is  now  a  clergyman, 
of  great  promise,  in  the  protestant  Episcopal  church.  The  author 
is  far  from  wishing  to  insinuate  that  this  was  an  act  of  singular  Cath- 
olicism in  himself ;  for  he  believes  that  any  of  his  predecessors  in 
office  would  probably  have  acted — perhaps  may  in  fact  have  acted — » 
in  the  same  manner.  In  a  word,  Jews,  Roman  Catholicks,  Episco- 
palians, Baptists,  Methodists,  Lutherans,  Friends,  members  of  the 
Dutch  Church,  and  of  the  Congregational  churches  of  New-England, 
have  all,  as  well  as  Presbyterians,  been  educated  in  the  college ; — pu- 
pils of  at  least  five  of  these  denominations  now  belong  to  it ;  and 
they  are  fearlessly  appealed  to,  to  say  whether  they  have  ever 
known  of  an  attempt  to  make  a  proselyte ;  or  whether  favour  or 
partiality  has  been  shown  to  any  one  sect,  to  the  injury  or  disadvan- 
tage of  another. 

It  has  also  been  represented  that  Nassau  Hall — to  use  a  phrase 
which  the  author  has  heard  employed — is  a  clerical  manufactory  ; 
^n  institution  in  which  the  great  object  is  to  form  youth  for  th« 
gospel  ministry,  and  in  which  the  whole  system  of  study  and  in- 
struction is  modified  and  conducted  in  subserviency  to  this  object. 
In  this  representation  there  is  as  little  tmth  as  in  any  which  has 
already  been  the  subject  of  remark.  That  the  founders  of  the  col- 
lege were  influenced  and  animated,  chiefly,  by  a  desire  to  increase 
the  number  and  qualifications  of  the  candidates  for  the  gospel  minis- 
try, has  been  distinctly  admitted  ;  and  that  the  institution  has,  in  a 
very  high  degree,  answered  the  purpose  which  was  so  dear  to  their 
hearts,  is  held  to  be  its  glory  and  not  its  shame.  To  have  been 
•minently  instrumental  in  preparing  men  to  preach  the  gospel  wit^ 


NOTES.  293 

ability  and  success — ^to  find  in  the  catalogue  of  its  graduates  that 
a  very  large  proportion  have  dedicated  themselves  to  the  service  of 
God  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  will  never,  it  is  hoped,  be  otherwise 
viewed  by  its  friends,  than  as  one  of  its  best  and  most  honourable 
distinctions.  But  it  was  not,  the  design  of  its  founders,  nor  did  they 
ever  attempt,  to  introduce  a  system  of  instruction,  which  should  not 
be  adapted  as  much  to  the  views  and  advantage  of  layn\cn,  as  of 
those  who  might  devote  themselves  to  the  holy  ministry  ;  for  to  form 
a  learned  and  pious  laity,  as  well  as  clergy,  these  truly  good  and 
enlightened  men  regarded  as  an  object  of  high  importance.  The 
system  actually  adopted  and  introduced  was  one  which,  in  their 
judgment,  was  the  best  calculated  to  afford  a  solid  basis,  equally,  for 
all  the  liberal  professions ;  accompanied  with  such  religious  and 
moral  teaching  and  discipline,  and  such  only,  as  were  equally  proper 
tor  all  youth,  whatever  miglit  be  their  prospects  or  character  in  future 
life.  Nor  has  there  ever  been  a  departure  from  such  a  system.  Noth- 
ing has  ever  been  taught,  in  the  classes  of  the  college,  which  a  stu- 
dious layman  ought  not  to  consider  as  a  proper  and  profitable  attain- 
ment. Some  subjects  of  study,  in  every  academical  course,  will  neces- 
sarily prove  more  directly  useful  than  others.  Nor  will  this  direct 
usefulness  be  found,  by  every  student,  in  the  same  branches  of  study  ; 
but  will  greatly  vary,  according  to  the  professional  or  favourite  pur- 
suit to  which  each  may  betake  himself.  To  some  the  knowledge  of 
languages,  to  others  mathematical  and  philosophical  attainments,  to 
others  chemical  and  mineralogical  investigations,  to  others  natural 
history  in  general,  to  others  civil  history,  to  others  moral  and  meta- 
physical science,  to  others  belles  lettres  and  criticism,  will  be  found 
most  immediately  demanded,  or  gratifying,  or  advantageous. — 
But  a  liberal  scholar  ought  to  be  acquainted  with  the  elements  of  all 
these  kinds  of  knowledge.  It  is  known  that  elementary  knowledge, 
to  such  an  extent  as  to  qualify  a  student  to  be,  in  a  considerable  de- 
gree, his  own  teacher,  and  to  pursue  improvement  with  facility  and 
success,  is  all  that  an  under-graduatc  can  hope  to  attain,  in  any  of 
our  colleges.  This  elementary  knowledge,  in  the  various  branches 
of  liberal  study,  it  has  always  been  the  aim  of  this  institution  effect- 
ually to  impart ;  leaving  every  pupil  to  improve  and  apply  it  after- 
wards, as  his  profession,  taste  or  inclination,  might  demand  or  direct. 
And  if  fidelity,  or  efficiency,  in  communicating  instruction,  and  ia 
forming  enlightened  and  useful  scholars,  is  to  be  ascertained  by  their 
subsequent  success  and  eminence  in  life,  Nassau-Hall  need  not  blusk 
to  compare  her  catalogue  with  that  of  any  sister  institution  in  our 
country.  Perhaps  her  laymen,  in  their  appropriate  pursuits,  have 
^ceij  more  generally  distinguished  than  her  clergrmc-a.       Ie  every 


294  NOTES. 

liberal  profession  of  a  secular  kind,  her  alumni  have  stood  as 
high  in  reputation  and  usefulness,  as  any  of  their  countrymen  ;  and 
in  every  gradation  of  honourable  office  and  employment,  from  the 
lowest  magistracy  to  the  presidency  of  the  United  States,  they  will 
be  found,  in  full  proportion,  to  have  held  a  place.  Is  this  boasting  ? 
It  is  truth,  stated  in  repelling  a  false  and  illiberal  allegation. 

But  the  college  has  been  charged  with  political  as  well  as  with 
religious  sectarism.  This  was  a  charge  brought  against  the  institu- 
tion at  an  early  period.  It  was  made  before  the  American  revolu- 
tion, by  the  devoted  partizans  of  royal  power  and  prerogative,  who 
were  not  friendly  to  the  college,  because  they  considered  it  as  a 
nursery  of  principles  to  which  they  were  hostile.  And  if  this  was 
a  just  ground  of  complaint,  they  certainly  did  not  make  it  without 
cause.  No  party  politicks,  indeed,  were  ever  professedly  inculcat- 
ed, or  directly  taught,  in  the  institution.  The  warmest  and  sincer- 
est  sentim.ents  of  loyalty  to  the  crown  and  constitution  of  England 
were,  at  all  times,  expressed,  both  by  the  trustees  and  presidents, 
and  honestly  cherished  among  all  tlie  students.  But  that  this 
was  an  institution  in  which  those  which  were  denominated  nvhig 
princijiles,  were  favoured  by  its  guardians  and  teachers,  and  would 
therefore  probably  be  imbibed  by  its  pupils,  was  never  denied  or 
disguised  ; — it  was  openly  avowed  and  gloried  in.  Of  this,  the  very 
name  which  was  given  to  the  college  was  intended  to  be  a  publick 
declaration,  and  a  perpetual  memorial.  The  truth  then,  was,  that 
loyalty  to  the  government  which  existed  was  not,  as  had  been  insin- 
uated, insidiously  undermined  among  the"  students  of  this  institu- 
tion ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  as  truly  fostered  as  it  was  openly 
professed  :  And  yet,  it  was  unequivocally  announced,  that  this  was 
a  loyalty  which  looked  to  the  glorious  English  revolution  under  a 
branch  of  the  house  of  Nassau,  in  honour  of  whom  the  edifice  had 
been  named,  as  the  standard  of  its  principles  and  the  measure  of  Its 
extent.  To  this  cause  it  might  probably  be  traced  that  the  Ameri- 
can revolution  had  no  warmer,  or  more  active,  or  more  united 
friends,  than  the  pupils  and  officei's  of  Nassau-Hall.  Its  president, 
at  that  time,  has  his  name  enrolled  among  those  illustrious  men  who 
subscribed  the  declaration  of  American  Independence  :  and  if  it  was 
a  fact,  as  possibly  it  was,  that  a  solitary  individual  of  the  sons  of  this 
college  took  part  against  his  country  in  the  trying  conflict  of  that 
memorable  era,  it  is  certainly  a  fact  which  is  utterly  unknown  to  the 
writer. 

Since  the  unhappy  division  of  the  citizens  of  our  country  into  the 
political  denominations  of  Democrats  and  Federalists,  the  charge  of 
political  partiality  has  been  renewed.     This,  it  is  believed,  has  been 


i 


NOTES.  295 

entirely  the  offspring  of  that  very  political  zeal  which  has  been 
charged  on  the  institution ; — a  zeal  which,  at  present,  is  happily 
much  abated,  and  which,  it  may  be  hoped,  will  soon  become  extinct. 
Nor  has  this  been  a  charge  which  has  probably  been  much  credited, 
or  in  any  considerable  degree  injurious.  Such  a  conjecture  is  coun- 
tenanced by  the  fact,  that,  of  each  of  these  political  parties,  the 
number  of  students  in  the  college  has  constantly  been  in  a  pretty- 
exact  proportion  to  the  number  which  has  existed  in  the  country  at 
large.  It  is  not  believed  that  any  attempt  has  ever  been  made  to 
induce  a  student  to  change  his  political  opinions;  or  that  favours  on 
the  one  hand,  or  frowns  on  the  other,  have  ever  been  experienced, 
on  account  of  such  opinions;  or  that  any  restraint,  which  was  not 
equal  and  impartial,  has  ever  been  laid  on  those  who  have  chosen  to 
discuss  political  topicks  in  their  exercises  of  publick  speaking.  When 
the  author  came  into  office,  he  made  it  distinctly  known,  that  all  the 
students  would  be  left  at  perfect  liberty  to  hold  and  avow  their  po- 
litical sentiments ;  subject  only  to  this  restriction,  in  all  cases,  that 
intemperate  passion  should  not  be  indulged,  nor  indecorous  language 
be  used.  By  the  printed  statutes  of  the  college,  it  is  required  of 
every  student,  "  with  a  view  to  preserve  the  publick  exercises 
from  impropriety  of  any  kind,  to  shew  to  the  president  the  whole  of 
what  he  proposes  to  speak."  In  discharging  the  duty  assigned  him 
by  this  statute,  the  author  has  seldom  had  occasion  to  prohibit  what 
has  been  submitted  to  him,  on  account  of  its  violating  the  rule,  or 
restriction,  which  has  been  mentioned.  Some  instances  of  such  pro- 
hibition, however,  have  occurred  ;  and  as  far  as  can  be  recollected, 
there  have  been  as  many  on  the  one  side  as  on  the  other. 

The  author  has  now  finished  his  remarks  on  the  mistakes  and 
misrepresentations  which  have  been  made  in  regard  to  the  origin, 
design,  and  administration  of  the  college.  He  has  said  much  more 
than  he  otherwise  would,  if,  in  making  these  remarks,  he  had  not 
found  it  convenient  to  connect  with  them  such  statements  as  may 
serve  to  give  the  reader  a  just  view,  not  only  of  the  course  of  study 
pursued  in  the  institution,  but  of  the  manner  in  which  the  most  of  its 
interior  concerns  have  been,  and  still  are  conducted.  The  result  of 
the  whole  is,  that  a  system  of  liberal  education,  as  extensive  and 
as  perfect  as  can  be  found  in  any  sister  institution  in  the  United  States, 
has  been  adopted,  and  now  exists  in  this  college ;  that  in  carrying  this 
system  into  effect,  religious  principle  and  moral  conduct  have  ever  been 
regarded  and  inculcated,  as  infinitely  important  in  themselves,  ancj 
as  the  best  auxiliaries  to  diligence  in  study,  and  to  orderly  conduct 
in  general ;  but  that  neither  in  religion  nor  in  politicks  have  prose- 
lytes ever  been  made,  or  pupils  suffered  any  inconvenience,  because 

(P2) 


296  NOTES. 


♦-.■■4 


their  creeds,  or  sentiments,  did  not  exactly  tally  Avith  those  of  their 
teachers. — Parents  who  dislike  such  a  system,  ought  not  to  send 
their  children  to  Nassau-Hall ;  and  those  who  approve  it,  may  be 
assured  that  here  their  offspring  will  feel  its  influence,  so  long  as  its 
guardians  and  teachers  shall  continue  to  carry  into  effect,  as  it  is 
hoped  they  always  will,  the  design  of  its  founders. 

It  is  now  proposed  to  give  some  account  of  the  state  of  the  insti- 
tution under  its  first  five  presidents,  and  a  short  biographical  notice 
ef  themselves. 

PRESIDENT  DICKINSON'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

We  have  seen  that  Mr.  Dickinson,  was  president  of  the  college 
only  under  the  first  charter.  Who  were  the  trustees  named  in  that 
charter,  or  appointed  under  it,  when  or  where  they  met,  or  at  what 
time  and  in  v/hat  manner  Mr.  Dickinson  was  appointed  president, 
cannot  now  be  known,  and  it  is  useless  to  conjecture.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  he  had  long  been  accustomed  to  receive  youth  for  in- 
struction in  classical  literature,  and  in  such  other  branches  of  liberal 
study  as  the  times  in  which  he  lived,  and  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  was  placed,  rendered  proper  and  practicable.  This  is  still  done 
by  many  clergymen  in  our  country ;  and  at  that  time  it  was  chiefly 
in  this  manner  that  preparation  was,  or  could  be  made,  in  places 
remote  from  colleges,  for  entering  on  the  study  of  any  of  the  liberal 
professions.  For  this  employment,  Mr.  Dickinson  was  better  quali- 
fied than  most  of  his  brethren ;  and  there  is  little  reason  to  doubt 
that  he  had  been  engaged  in  it  for  a  considerable  time.  But  however 
this  might  have  been,  previously  to  the  granting  of  a  charter  for  a 
college,  it  is  certain  that  he  was  so  employed  for  the  short  period 
which  intervened  between  the  date  of  the  charter  and  the  time  of 
his  death.  It  is  also  certain  that  his  pupils  had  made  very  considera- 
ble progress  in  the  course  of  their  education ;  for  about  a  year  after 
his  decease,  it  appears  that  six  individuals  received  their  Bachelor's 
degree.  This  was  under  the  present  charter,  which  in  the  mean 
time  had  been  obtained  by  Gov.  Belcher,  but  it  is  probable  that  the 
■whole  of  these  youths  had  been  previously  in  the  training  of  Mr. 
Dickinson,  and  that  by  his  instruction  they  had  advanced  so  far  as  to 
be  within  a  year  of  graduation. 

How  many  pupils,  in  all,  were  under  his  care,  at  the  time  of  his 
decease,  can  only  be  conjectured.  From  the  number  graduated,  the 
author  thinks  it  probable  that  the  whole  number  did  not  exceed 
twenty.  Some  of  them,  it  is  likely,  boarded  with  the  president,  and 
the  others  in  families  near  to  his  dwelling,  in  Elizabeth-Town.  No 
publick  buiidiogs  had  then  been  erected  for  their  accommodation. 


i 


NOTES.  297 

It  is  presumed  that  an  usher,  or  tutor,  was  employed  to  assist  the 
president,  but  the  chief  labour  of  instruction  must  have  fallen  upon 
himself — What  must  have  been  his  activity  and  industry,  when,  to 
all  his  other  occupations  and  engagements,  were  added  the  duties  of 
a  practising  physician  ?  Yet  those  duties  he  so  performed  as  to  ob- 
tain a  considerable  medical  reputation. 

"  Mr.  Dickinson  was  a  native  of  Hatfield,  in  Massachusetts.     His 
descent  was  from  a  reputable  family.     His  parents  were  Hezekiah 
and  Abigail  Dickinson.     The  tradition  is,  according  to  a  communi- 
cation from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lyman,  that  his  mother  was  left  a  widow, 
married,  and  removed  to  Springfield,  with  her  children  ;  and  that 
she  educated  her  sons  by  the  assistance  of  her  second  husband's  es- 
tate.    Her  son  Moses  was  a  clergyman  of  high  distinction  in  his  day, 
and  was  the  pastor  of  the  congregational  church  at  Norwalk  in  Con- 
necticut.    Jonathan,  as  it  appears  by  the  town  records  of  Hatfield, 
was  born  22d  April,  1688.     He  was  one  of  the  brightest  luminaries 
of  the  American  churches,  at  the  period  in  which  he  lived."  \^jilden*s 
collection,']     "  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1706,  and  with- 
in one  or  two  years  afterwards,  he  was  settled  minister  of  the  first 
Presbyterian  church  in  Elizabethtown,  New- Jersey.    Of  this  church 
he  was,  for  near  forty  years,  the  joy  and  glory.     He  had  a  mind 
formed  for  inquiry  ;  he  possessed  a  quick  preception  and  an  accu- 
rate judgment ;  and  to  a  keen  penetration  he  united  a  disinterested 
attachment  to  truth.     With  a  natural  turn  for  controversy,  he  had  a 
happy  government  of  his  passions,  and  abhorred  the  perverse  dispu- 
tings,  so  common  to  men  of  corrupt  minds.     The  eagerness  of  con- 
tention did  not  extinguish  in  him  the  fervors  of  devotion  and  brother- 
ly love.     By  his  good  works  and  exemplary  life  he  adorned  the  doc- 
trines of  grace,  which  he  advocated  with  zeal.     He  boldly  appeared 
in  defence  of  the  great  truths  of  our  most  holy  religion,  confronting 
what  he  considered  as  error,  and  resisting  every  attack  on  the  chris- 
tian faith.     He  wished  to  promote  the  interests  of  practical  godli- 
ness, of  holy  living,  and  therefore  he  withstood  error  in  every  shape, 
knowing  that  it  poisons  the  heart,  and  thus  destroys  the  very  pnn- 
ciples  of  virtue. 

His  writings  possess  very  considerable  merit.  They  are  designed 
to  unfold  the  wonderful  method  of  redemption,  and  to  excite  men  to 
that  cheerful  consecration  of  all  their  talents  to  their  Maker,  to  that 
careful  avoidance  of  sin,  and  practice  of  godliness,  which  will  exalt 
them  to  glory.  He  published  the  reasonableness  of  Christianity  in 
four  sermons,  Boston,  1732 ;  the  true  scripture  doctrine  concerning 
some  important  points  of  christian  faith,  particularly  eternal  election, 
original  sin,  grace  in  conversion,  justification  by  faith,  and  the  saints 

Q  2 


298  NOTES. 

perseverance,  in  live  discourses,  1741,  in  answer  to  Mr.  Whitby;  a 
sermon  on  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  May  1740 ;  on  the  nature  and 
necessity  of  regeneration,  with  remarks  on  Dr.  Waterland's  regene- 
ration stated  and  explained,  1743,  against  baptismal  regeneration  ;  a 
display  of  God's  special  grace  in  a  familiar  dialogue,  1742  ;  reflec- 
tions upon  Mr.  Wetmore's  letter  in  defence  of  Dr.  AVaterland's  dis- 
course on  regeneration,  1745.  The  above  works  were  handsomely 
published  in  an  octavo  volume,  at  Edinburgh,  in  1793.  President 
Dickinson,  published  a  defence  of  Presbyterian  ordination,  in  answer 
to  a  pamphlet,  entitled  a  modest  proof,  &c.  1724 ;  the  vanity  of  hu- 
man institutions  in  the  worship  of  God,  a  sermon  preached  at  New- 
ark, June  2d,  1736  ;  a  defence  of  it  afterwards ;  a  second  defence  of 
it  against  the  exceptions  of  Mr.  John  Beach,  in  his  appeal  to  the  un- 
prejudiced, 1738  ;  this  work  is  entitled  the  reasonableness  of  non- 
conformity to  the  church  of  England,  in  point  of  worship ;  familiar 
letters  upon  various  important  subjects  in  religion,  1745  ;  a  pamphlet 
in  favour  of  infant  Ijaptism,  1746  ;  a  vindication  of  God's  sovereign, 
free-grace ;  a  second  vindication,  &c.  against  Mr.  John  Beach,  to 
which  are  added  brief  reflections  on  Dr.  Johnson's  defence  of  Aristo- 
cles'  letter  to  Authades,  1748  ;  an  account  of  the  deliverance  of  Ro- 
bert Barrow,  ship-wrecked  among  the  cannibals  of  Florida."  [Al- 
len's biografihical  dictionary.'] 

The  above  quotations  contain  the  best  published  accounts  of  pre- 
sident Dickinson,  to  which  the  author  has  had  access ;  not  having 
been  able  to  obtain  a  copy  of  the  sermon  preached  at  his  funeral. 
It  is  known,  however,  that  the  enumeration  here  given  of  his  printed 
works,  is  not  complete.  The  author  has  in  his  possession  an  excellent 
discourse,  not  contained  in  this  enumeration,  which  is  entitled — "  A 
sermon  preached  at  the  funeral  of  Mrs.  Ruth  Pierson,  wife  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  John  Pierson,  minister  of  the  gospel  at  Woodbridge,  in  New- 
Jersey — By  Jonathan  Dickinson — New-York,  printed  by  William 
Bradford,  1733."  As  president  Dickinson,  had  rendered  this  tri- 
bute of  affection  and  respect  to  his  friend,  Mr.  Pierson,  so  that  friend 
was  afterwards  called  to  the  performance  of  a  similar  service,  at  the 
funeral  of  Mr.  Dickinson  himself.  Between  these  two  distin- 
guished ministers  of  the  gospel  the  most  unreserved  confidence, 
and  intercourse,  subsisted  for  many  successive  years.  Their 
congregations,  or  parishes,  joined  to  each  other,  and  their  ministerial 
services  were  often  interchanged.  They  were  nearly  of  the  same 
age,  both  gi-aduates  of  Yale  College,  and  both  pupils  of  the  Rev. 
Abraham  Pierson,  the  father  of  John,  and  the  first  President,  or  Rec- 


NOTES.  299 

tor,  of  that  distinguished  institution,  then  in  its  infancy.  John  Pier- 
son  was  a  minister  of  the  gospel  for  57  years,  and  died  in  the  81st 
year  of  his  age,  in  August,  1770,  at  the  house  of  his  son-in-law,  the 
Rev.  Jacob  Green,  of  Hanover,  Morris  county,  New-Jersey.  His 
remains  were  deposited  in  the  burial  ground  of  the  church  in  Hano- 
ver, where  a  monumental  stone,  with  a  suitable  inscription,  is  placed 
over  his  grave. 

The  feeling  may  claim  a  momentary  indulgence  which  prompts 
the  writer  to  record,  that  John  Pierson,  and  Jacob  Green,  the  latter 
his  father,  the  former  his  matenial  grand-father,  and  both  of  them 
original  trustees  of  the  college  of  New-Jersey,  were  the  particular 
and  intimate  friends  of  its  two  first  presidents,  Mr.  Dickinson  and 
Mr.  Burr.  It  was  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Dickinson,  that  Mr.  Jacob 
Green  was  received  with  fatherly  kindness,  when  he  first  came  from 
Massachusetts,  the  place  of  his  birth  and  education,  with  Mr.  White- 
field,  in  1745,  about  a  year  after  he  had  received  graduation  at  Har- 
vard college.  Under  Mr.  Dickinson  and  Mr.  Burr,  he  pursued  his 
theological  studies,  and  under  their  patronage  was  introduced  advan- 
tageously into  the  gospel  ministry.  Mr.  Dickinson  was  soon  remov- 
ed by  death  ;  but  to  the  counsel  and  friendship  of  Mr,  Burr,  lie  was 
deeply  indebted  for  a  number  of  years. — The  memory  of  these  men 
was,  with  him,  inestimably  precious.  Through  the  whole  of  his  life 
he  loved  to  dvvcll  upon  their  virtues,  and  to  hold  them  up  as  exam- 
ples to  others.  He  died  in  May,  1790,  in  the  69th  year  of  his  age, 
and  his  dust  mingles  with  that  of  Mr.  Pierson. 

The  oiiginal  trustees  of  Nassau-Hall,  cherished  for  this  child  of 
their  prayers  and  their  hopes  a  most  ardent  attachment ;  and  from 
conversations  which  passed  under  the  paternal  roof  in  his  early 
ycai-s,  and  which  were  deeply  impressed  on  his  memory,  the  author 
has  been  enabled  to  furnish  a  part  of  the  information,  relative  to  the 
college,  which  is  contained  in  these  notes ;  and  from  the  same  source 
some  additional  items  will  be  supplied. 

President  Dickinson  left  three  daughters  ;  one  of  whom  was  mar- 
ried to  Mr.  Jonathan  Sergeant,  of  Princeton  ;  one  to  a  Mr.  John  Coop- 
er, of  whose  residence  the  writer  has  not  been  informed ;  and  the 
other  to  the  Rev.  Caleb  Smitli,  pastor  of  the  congregation  of  Newark 
mountains,  a  place  which  has  since,  by  a  vote  of  the  inhabitants, 
changed  its  name  for  that  of  Orange.  This  Mr.  Smith  was  early  a 
trustee  of  the  college,  a  man  of  talents  and  learning,  and  of  distin- 
guished piety.  He  died  in  the  vigour  of  life,  greatly  beloved  aud 
lamentctL 


300  NOTES. 

On  the  monumental  stone  which  covers  the  remains  of  the  venera- 
ble man  whose  memoir  we  are  now  closing,  is  the  following  inscrip- 
tion- 
Here 
Lies  the  body  of  the  Rev'd 
Mr.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  Pastor 
of  the  first  Presbyterian  church 
In  Elizabeth-town  ;  who  died  October 
The  7th,  1747 ;  setatis  suae  60 — 

Deep  was  the  wound,  Oh  death,  and  vastly  wide. 
When  he  resigned  his  useful  breath  and  died. 
Ye  sacred  tribes,  with  pious  sorrows  mourn. 
And  drop  a  tear  at  your  great  pastor's  urn ! 
Concealed  a  moment  from  our  longing  eyes. 
Beneath  this  stone  his  mortal  body  lies  ; 
Happy  the  spirit  lives,  and  will,  we  trust. 
In  bliss  associate  with  his  precious  dust. 

PRESIDENT  BURR'S  ADMINISTRATION— 
From  1747  to  1757. 

The  pupils  who  had  been  the  charge  of  Mr.  Dickinson,  at  Eliza- 
beth-town, were,  after  his  death,  removed  to  Newark,  distant  about 
six  miles,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Burr.  He,  therefore, 
was  considered  as  the  successor  of  Mr,  Dickinson,  in  the  presidency 
of  the  college,  even  under  the  first  charter.  Whether  there  was 
any  formal  appointment  to  that  eJBTect,  is  unknown.  But  it  appears 
that  he  had  the  superintendance  and  instruction  of  the  youth  who 
had  been  collected  as  the  beginning  of  a  college,  for  about  a  year, 
before  the  charter  was  obtained  under  which  they  received  gradua- 
tion. It  will  be  seen,  by  the  following  extracts  from  the  minutes  of 
the  trustees,  that  a  class  was  in  readiness  to  receive  their  Bachelor's 
degree,  within  a  month  from  the  time  that  Belcher's  charter  took 
effect ;  and  that  under  that  charter  the  degrees  were  conferred  by  Mr. 
Burr,  on  the  very  day  on  which  he  was  elected  president.  Every 
thing  therefore  must  have  been  previously  prepared  and  arranged 
with  a  view  to  this  event. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  new  corporation,  as  was  shown  in  a  for- 
mer note,  was  at  New-Brunswick,  October  13,  1748 — At  that  meet- 
ing nothing  farther  was  done  than  formally  to  accept  the  charter,  to 
present  an  address  of  thanks  to  the  Governor,  to  receive  his  reply, 
and  to  pass  a  vote  for  another  meeting,  to  be  held  at  Newark,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  following  month.     Of  this  meeting  the  whole  record 


NOTES.  501 

will  be  given,  except  the  part  which  contains  a  transcript  of  the  laws 
for  the  government  of  the  college,  which  were  then  enacted.  No 
better  statement  can  be  made,  than  is  made  by  the  record  itself,  of 
the  facts  which  it  exhibits,  and  of  the  measures  which  were  adopted 
by  the  founders  of  the  college,  for  promoting  the  interests  of  their 
infant  institution.     The  record  is  as  follows — 

"  On  Wednesday,  November  9th,  the  trustees  met  according  to 
appointment  at  Newark — 

PRESENT 

His  Excellency  Governor  Belcher,  Esq. 

James  Hude,  "^  John  Pierson,  "^ 

Tliomas  Leonard,  )-Esq'rs.    Joseph  Lamb,  j 

William  Smith,  J  Aaron  Burr,  | 

Richard  Treat,  j 

Peter  V.  B.  Livingston,  "^  Samuel  Blair,  I   Ministers  of 

William  P.  Smith,  VGent.       William  Tcnnent,  j    the  gospel. 

Samuel  Hazard,  J  David  Cowell,  ', 

Tim.  Jones, 

Jacob  Green, 

Thomas  Artliur, 

The  following  gentlemen*  were  qualified,  according  to  the  direc- 
tions of  the  charter,  viz — Governor  Belcher,  William  Smith,  Peter 
V.  B.  Livingston,  Samuel  Hazard,  Samuel  Blair,  Jacob  Green. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Lamb  opened  the  sessions  with  prayer. 

The  clerk  certified  to  the  board  of  trustees  that  he  had  duly  noti- 
fied every  member  of  the  corjDoration,  of  the  time  and  place  of  meet- 
ing ;  and  then  took  the  oath  the  charter  requires. 

Agreed,  that  the  method  of  choosing  all  officers  in  the  college  be  by 
balloting. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Aaron  Burr,  was  unanimously  chosen  to  be  the  pre- 
sident of  the  college  :  the  vote  of  the  trustees  being  made  known  to 
Mr.  Burr,  he  was  pleased  modestly  to  accept  the  same,  and  took  the 
oath  required  by  the  charter. 

Agreed,  that  the  commencement  for  graduating  the  candidates, 
that  had  been  examined  and  approved  for  that  pui-pose,  go  on  thi*' 
day. 

It  was  accordingly  opened  this  forenoon  by  the  president  with 
prayer,  and  publicly  reading  of  the  charter  in  the  meeting-house. 

Adjourned  till  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

In  the  afternoon,  tlie  president  delivered  a  handsome  and  elegant 
Latin  Oration.     And  after  the  customary  scholastic  disputations,  the 

♦  Thcso  raembcrs  had  not  been  present  at  the  first  meeting:. 


^^ 


502  NOTES. 

following  gentlemen  were  admitted  to  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts, 
viz:  Enos  Ayres,  Israel  Read,  Benjamin  Chesnut,  Richard  Stockton, 
Hugh  Henry,  Daniel  Thane. 

After  which  his  Excellency  the  Governor  was  pleased  to  accept 
of  a  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  :  this  was  succeeded  by  a  salutatory 
oration,  pronounced  by  Mr.  Thane,  and  the  whole  concluded  with 
prayer  by  the  president. 

Met  this  evening — A  set  of  laws  werg  laid  before  the  trustees  for 
tlieir  approbation  ;  and  after  a  second  and  third  reading,  and  some 
alterations  and  amendments,  they  were  unanimously  received ;  and 
ordered  to  be  inserted  with  the  minutes,  as  the  laws  of  the  college  of 
New-Jersey. 

Voted,  that  the  anniversary  commencement,  for  the  future,  be 
held  on  the  last  Wednesday  of  September,  and  that  the  next  com- 
mencement be  held  at  New-Brunswick. 

Voted,  that  the  Honorable  Andrew  Johnston,  Esq.  be  desired  te 
accept  the  office  of  treasurer  to  the  corporation. 

Voted,  that  the  seal  prepared  by  Mr.  P.  Smith,  be  accepted  as  the 
common  seal  of  the  corporation,  and  that  the  thanks  of  the  corpora- 
tion be  returned  to  Mr.  Smith,  for  his  care  in  devising  the  same  : 

And  that  he  be  desired  to  get  two  seals  engraven,  of  the  same  de- 
vice, for  the  use  of  the  corporation ;  and  that  the  trustees  be  an- 
swerable for  the  expense  thereof.  "^ 

Voted,  that  all  diplomas  and  certificates  of  degrees  be  signed  by 
the  President,  and  at  least  six  of  the  Trustees. 

Voted,  that  William  Smith,  Esq.  be  appointed  to  draw  up  an  ac- 
count of  the  proceedings  of  the  commencement,  and  insert  it  in  the 
New- York  Gazette,  as  soon  as  he  conveniently  can  : 

That  Messrs.  Pierson,  Cowel,  Jones,  Arthur,  be  appointed  to  make 
application  to  the  General  Assembly  of  this  province,  now  sitting  at 
Perth- Amboy,  in  order  to  get  tlicir  countenance  and  assistance  for 
the  support  of  the  college. 

Voted,  that  the  following  gentlemen  be  desired  to  take  in  subscrip- 
tions for  the  college,  viz  : 

Messrs.  Kinsev,  7    ^  tji  •,    ■,  i   i  •      Thos.  Leonard,         7  TJ,.;,.^^+r^T^ 
Hazard;  ^- ^^t  Philadelphia.  John  Stockton,  Esq.  j^""^^^^"- 

P.VanBrugh  Livingston,  7^  ^  ,  James  Hude,  Esq.  Cc  Thos.  Ar- 
P.  Smith,  ^  JN .  1  orK.  ^|^^  ..^  ^^  BrunsAvick. 

Read  &  Smith,  at  Burlington.  Henderson  &  Furman,  Freehold.. 

Read  8c  Cowell,  at  Trenton.  John  Pierson,  Woodbridge. 

John  Stevens,  Amljoy.  Major  Johnson,  at  Newark. 
Sam.  Woodruff,  Eliz.  Town. 

That  all  the  trustees  shall  use  their  utmost  endeavours  to  obtain 
Benefactions  to  the  said  college  :  and  that  this  vote  go  into  the  Ncav- 


NOTES.  303 

York  and  Philadelphia  Gazettes.     That  this  meeting  be  adjourned 
to  the  third  Thursday  in  May  next,  to  be  held  at  Maidenhead. 

Mr.  Tennent  concluded  \vith  prayer." 

It  may  be  proper  to  follow  these  authentick  records,  witli  an  ex- 
tract from  "  an  account  of  the  college  of  New-Jersey,"  already  allu- 
ded to,  "published  by  order  of  the  trustees,"  under  tlie  direction  of 
Dr.  Finley,  then  president,  in  1761 — "  to  which  regard  is  to  be  paid, 
as  to  the  narrative  of  one  who  writes  what  he  knows,  and  what  is 
known  likewise  to  multitudes  besides."* 

It  must  be  understood,  however,  that  the  account,  given  in  this 
extract,  of  the  interior  of  the  college  edifice,  is  not  applicable  to  it  at 
present.  All  the  ornaments  of  the  prayer-hall,  or  chapel,  called  in 
this  extract  "the  Hall,"  as  well  as  the  organ  which  it  contained, 
were  destroy  ed  by  the  British  and  American  soldier) ,  in  the  war  of 
the  revolution.  And  when  the  structure  suffered  by  the  fire  of  1802, 
nothing  was  left  but  tlie  naked  stone  walls.  On  its  being  rebuilt,  al- 
though the  walls,  which  were  not  materially  injured  by  the  fire,  re- 
mained as  before,  the  whole  interior  of  the  house,  except  the  chapel, 
was  converted  into  lodging  rooms — the  library,  refectory  and  other 
publick  apartments,  being  provided  for,  as  heretofore  stated,  in  ad- 
ditional buildings.  Yet  it  belongs  to  the  history  of  the  institution  to 
make  known  what  were  the  original  arrangements,  when  every  pro- 
vision for  the  accommodation  and  instruction  of  the  students  was  to 
be  made  in  a  single  structure  ;  and  a  record  of  these  arrangements 
will  probably  be  read  with  peculiar  pleasure,  by  those  alumni  of  tlic 
college,  who  can  remember,  and  who  delight  to  think  of  "  the 
first  house."  The  changes  which  have  since  taken  place,  and 
which  have  not  been  already  noted,  will  be  mentioned  in  their  pnv 
per  place.  The  account  from  which  the  extract  is  to  be  given,  be- 
gins with  stating  the  necessity  which  had  long  been  felt  for  a  college 
nearer  at  hand  than  any  that  had  as  yet  been  founded  ;  it  then  re- 
cites a  part  of  the  charter,  and  afterwards^  proceeds  as  follows — 

*'  Thus  were  the  trustees  possessed  of  a  naked  charter,  without 
any  fund  at  all  to  accomplish  the  undertaking.  This,  in  the  eyes  of 
some,  gave  it  the  appearance  of  an  idle  chimerical  project.  Theii 
©nly  resource,  indeed,  under  the  smiles  of  Heaven,  was  the  benefi- 
cence of  the  advocates  and  friends  of  learning.  After  various  solici- 
tations in  ^'/inej'icu,  the  contributions,  tho'  often  generous  and  worthy 
of  grateful  acknowledgment,  were  found  by  no  means  adequate  to 
the  execution  of  so  extensive  a  design.  Therefore,  in  the  year  175  J, 
two  gentlemen  were  sent  as  agents  to    Great   Britairiy  and  Ireland^ 

•  Johiisou's  life  of  Walls. 


304  NOTES. 

to  solicit  additional  benefactions.  There  the  institution  was  iionour- 
ed,  beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectations,  with  the  approbation 
and  liberality  of  several  political  and  ecclesiastical  bodies ;  and  of 
many  private  persons  of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  among  the  laity  and 
clergy  of  various  denominations. 

The  students,  in  the  mean  time,  who,  in  the  beginning,  were  few 
in  number,  lived  dispersed  in  private  lodgings,  in  the  town  of  JVeiv- 
ark  ;  at  which  place  the  college  was  first  opened  ;  the  public  aca- 
demical exercises  being  generally  performed  in  the  county  court- 
house. The  difficulties  and  danger  of  these  circumstances,  both 
with  regard  to  the  morals  and  literary  improvement  of  the  youth, 
could  scarcely  have  been  encountered  so  long,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  indefatigable  industry  and  vigilance  of  Mr.  President  Burr, 
the  first  who  officiated  in  that  station.  And  it  was  much  owing  to 
his  unremitted  zeal  and  activity,  that  this  college  so  suddenly  rose 
to  such  a  flourishing  condition. 

The  trustees,  thus  generously  assisted,  immediately  set  about 
erecting  a  building,  in  which  the  students  might  be  boarded  as  w^ell 
as  taught ;  and  live  always  under  the  inspection  of  the  college  offi- 
cers, more  sequestered  from  the  various  temptations,  attending  a 
promiscuous  converse  with  the  world,  that  theatre  of  folly  and  dissi- 
pation. The  little  village  of  Princeton  was  fixed  upon,  as  the  most 
convenient  situation ;  being  near  the  centre  of  the  colony,  on  the 
public  road  between  JVew-  York  and  Philadelphia^  and  not  inferior 
in  the  salubrity  of  its  air,  to  any  village  upon  the  continent. 

The  edifice  being  nearly  finished,  and  considered  as  sacred  to  lib- 
erty and  revolution  principles,  was  denominated  Nassau-Hall, 
from  that  great  deliverer  of  ^jvYcm,  and  assertor  of  protestant  lib- 
erty, K.  William  the  III.  prince  of  Orange  and  J\''assau.  It  will 
accommodate  about  147  students,  computing  three  to  a  chamber. 
These  are  20  feet  square,  havhig  two  large  closets,  with  a  window 
in  each,  for  retirement.  It  has  also  an  elegant  hall,  of  genteel  work- 
manship, being  a  square  of  near  40  feet,  with  a  neatly  finished  front 
gallery.  Here  is  a  small,  though  exceeding  good  organ,  which  was 
obtained  by  a  voluntary  subscription  :  opposite  to  which  and  of  the 
same  height,  is  erected  a  stage,  for  the  use  of  the  students,  in  their 
public  exhibitions.  It  is  also  ornamented,  on  one  side,  with  a  portrait 
of  his  late  majesty,  at  full  length  ;  and,  on  the  other  with  a  like  pic- 
ture, (and  above  it  the  family  arms  neatly  carved  and  gilt,)  of  his  Ex- 
cellency Governor  Belcher.  These  were  bequeathed  by  the  latter 
to  this  college.  The  library,  which  is  on  the  second  floor,  is  a  spacious 
room,  furnished  at  present  with  about  1200  volumes,  all  which  have 
been  the  gifts  of  the  patrons  and  friends  of  the  institution,  both  in 


NOTES.  305 

Eurofie  and  America,  There  is,  on  the  lower  story,  a  commodious 
dining  hall,  lar^e  enough  tq  accommodate  as  many  as  the  house  will 
contain,  together  with  a  large  kitchen,  steward's  apartments,  &c. 
The  whole  structure,  which  is  of  durable  stone,  having  a  neat  cupola 
on  its  top,  makes  a  handsome  appearance;  and  is  esteemed  to  be 
the  most  conveniently  planned  for  the  purposes  of  a  college,  of  any 
in  North  America  ;  being  designed  and  executed  by  that  approved, 
architect,  Mr.  Robert  Smithy  of  Philadeljihia. 

In  the  year  1757,  the  students,  to  about  the  number  of  70,  remov- 
ed from  Newark,  the  house  being  then  so  far  completed,  as  to  be 
ready  for  their  reception.  Experience  soon  taught  the  society,  the 
superior  convenience  of  their  new  circumstances.  The  numbers 
increased  very  fast.  The  country  became  more  and  more  convinced 
of  the  importance  of  learning,  in  general,  and  the  utility  of  such  a 
seat  of  education  in  particular  ;  both  from  the  regularity  of  its  ad- 
ministration, and  the  figure  which  several  of  its  sons  already  made, 
in  the  various  literary  professions.  But  it  was  not  long  before  it  suf- 
fered, what  was  then  looked  upon,  as  an  almost  irretrievable  lose. 
For  this  same  year  died,  universally  deplored,  Mr.  President 
Burr.  Few  men  were  possessed,  in  an  equal  degree,  of  such  an  as- 
semblage of  superior  talents.  He  seemed  to  be  peculiarly  formed 
for  that  important  sphere  of  action,  which  was  assigned  him  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life.  But  the  reader  may  see  the  lineaments  of  his 
character  drawn,  in  striking  colours,  by  a  masterly  hand,  in  a  fune- 
ral eulogium,  published  soon  after  his  decease.  The  same  year 
died  also  his  Excellency  Governor  Belcher,  who  continued,  to  the 
last,  a  zealous  patron  of  religion  and  learning.  His  library  consist- 
ing of  474  volumes,  together  with  several  other  useful  and  ornamen- 
tal articles,  he  left  to  this  college,  of  which  he  was  himself  the 
founder." 

From  what  has  now  been  stated,  and  from  what  will  most  proper- 
ly appear  in  the  biographical  sketch  of  President  Burr,  the  general 
state  of  the  institution  during  his  administration,  may  be  seen.  A 
cursory  mention  will  be  made  of  a  few  particular  circumstances 
which  may  deserve  a  brief  notice. 

The  number  of  pupils  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Burr,  appears  to  have 
increased  gradually  and  regularly,  till  it  reached,  as  we  have  seen, 
70,  at  the  time  of  the  removal  from  Newark  to  Princeton. 

In  conducting  the  instruction  of  the  students  the  labour  of  teach- 
ing, at  this  time,  fell  principally  on  the  president.  He  sohietimes 
had  but  one  tutor  to  assist  him,  and  never  more  than  two,  while  the 
college  remained  at  Newark.  He  also  had  the  charge  of  a  gram- 
Hiar  school,  during  the  whole  time  he  was  in  office,  in  which  pupils 

R2 


SOS  NOTES. 

were  prepared  for  the  classes  of  the  college.  This  was  considered 
as  a  personal  concern  of  the  president,  bj  whom  the  teachers  in  the 
school  were  employed.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  the  trustees  took 
the  grammar  school  under  their  care,  as  a  part  of  the  general  estab- 
lishment. 

The  conferring  of  degrees,  or  the  publick  commencements  of  the 
college,  during  the  presidency  of  Mi'.  Burr,  took  place  at  Newark, 
with  but  one  exception.  The  second  commencement  was  held  at 
New-Brunswick,  before  the  permanent  site  of  the  institution  was 
located,  and  when  it  was  most  probable  that  it  would  be  fixed  in  that 
town — Perhaps  it  was  intended,  by  this  measure,  to  increase  the 
zeal  of  the  inhabitants  to  contribute  liberally  towards  its  endowment. 
After  the  commencement  of  1756,  the  board  of  trustees,  on  the  29th 
of  September,  "  voted  that  the  president  move  the  college  to  Prince- 
ton this  fall ;  and  that  the  expense  thereof  be  paid  by  the  treasurer.'* 
Yet  Dr.  Finley's  account  states  that  the  removal  was  in  1757.  It  is 
believed  that  Dr.  Finley  probably  spoke  of  what  might  be  called 
a  collegiate  year — reckoning  from  one  commencement  to  another : 
The  college  records  are  silent  as  to  the  precise  time  of  the  actual 
removal.  The  writer  believes  it  was  made  in  the  time  of  vacation, 
succeeding  the  commencement  of  1756;  and  that  the  college  was  open- 
ed at  Princeton,  in  the  month  of  November  of  that  year — president 
Burr,  having,  in  the  mean  time,  removed  to  that  place  with  his  fam- 
ily. Be  this  as  it  might,  he  did  not  live  to  preside  at  the  commence- 
ment of  1757 — He  died  two  days  before  it  took  place.  The  degrees 
of  that  year,  were,  by  the  appointment  of  the  board,  conferred  by 
*'the  Hon.  William  Smith,  Esq  ;"  and  it  was  ordered  that  *'  the 
two  eldest  ministers,  being  trustees,  should  begin  and  conclude  with 
prayer.'* 

The  largest  donation  recorded  as  having  been  made  to  the  college, 
in  this  country,  during  the  period  under  review,  was  by  the  Hon. 
James  Alexander^  afterwards  Earl  of  Stirling — He  gave  £50  proc : 

The  college  had  also  the  benefit  of  a  lottery  which  was  drawn  in 
Philadelphia. — "  The  General  Court  of  the  Colony  of  Connecticut" 
likewise  granted  to  the  trustees,  who  petitioned  to  that  effect,  the 
privilege  of  drawing  a  lottery,  within  that  colony.  Whether  the 
lottery  was  actually  made  and  drawn  does  not  appear  on  the  min- 
utes of  the  board  ;  although  it  is  recorded  that  an  address  of  thanks, 
to  the  General  Court  that  had  acted  thus  generously,  was  voted  by 
the  trustees. 

Petitions  of  the  most  urgent  kind  were  addressed  to  the  legislature 
of  the  province  of  New-Jersey,  in  behalf  of  the  college.  But  even  a 
petition  for  a  lottery  was  "  absolutely  rejected."    Whatever  was  the 


NOTES.  307 

influence  of  Gov.  Belcher,  or  the  popularity  of  president  Burr,  their 
united  exertions  could  never  prevail  on  the  legislature  of  the  pro- 
vince in  which  the  college  was  founded,  whose  name  it  bore,  and  of 
which  it  was  the  greatest  ornament,  to  show  it  patronage  or  favour 
of  any  kind.  It  is  as  grievous  to  the  writer  to  record  this  want  of 
liberality  in  a  legislature  of  his  native  state,  as  it  can  be  to  any  other 
inliabitant  to  read  the  record.  But  historical  fidelity  requires  that 
the  fact  should  not  be  suppressed.  All  the  state  patronage  which 
the  college  has  ever  received  shall,  in  its  proper  place,  be  faithfully 
stated.  The  writer  iias  only  to  regret  that  the  statement  will  so  ea- 
sily be  made. 

The  funds  from  wliich  the  expense  of  erecting  the  college  edifice 
was  defrayed,  were  provided,  as  the  tixistecs  in  their  first  address  to 
Gov.  Belcher  explicitly  state,  by  the  benefactions  obtained  in  Great 
Britain  through  the  agency  of  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent,  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  of  Virginia,  who  went  thither, 
for  this  purpose,  in  1753  ;  and  returned  in  the  following  year.  But 
the  amount  of  these  benefactions  the  author  regrets  tiiat  he  has  not 
been  able  to  ascertain.  The  General  Assembly  of  the  church  of 
Scotland,  were  addressed  on  this  occasion  ;  and  after  the  return  of 
Messrs  Tennent  and  Davies,  a  letter  of  thanks  was  transmitted  to 
the  Assembly,  for  the  aid  which  they  had  afforded  in  obtaining  con- 
tributions. 

The  folloAving  sketch  of  the  life  and  character  of  president  Burr, 
has  been  taken  almost  w  holly  from  Allen's  Biographical  Dictionary, 
whose  author  refers  to  publications,  to  the  most  of  which  the  present 
writer  has  had  no  access.  The  sketch  however  has  been  so  much 
modified,  to  prevent  repetition,  to  supply  some  defects,  and  to  render 
the  dfites  correct,  that  it  seemed  more  proper  to  make  this  general 
acknowledgment,  than  to  give  it  as  a  quotation.  It  is  very  deficient, 
after  all,  in  the  arrangement  of  the  paits.  In  forming  it,  a  funeral 
sermon  preached  by  the  Rev.  Caleb  Smith,  by  the  appointment  of 
the  trustees,  and  printed  at  their  expense,  was  probably  quoted  ;  as 
well  as  the  eulogium  of  Mr.  Livingston,  mentioned  by  Dr.  Finley. 
In  such  compositions  praise  is  often  undeservedly  or  immoderately 
bestowed.  In  the  present  instance,  however,  if  a  little  allowance  be 
made  for  the  feelings  of  friendship,  and  the  excitement  of  unfeigned 
grief,  it  is  believed  that  no  ground  will  be  left  for  the  charge  of  ex- 
travagance. No  clergyman  in  the  state  of  New- Jersey,  was  proba- 
bly ever  more  beloved,  respected  and  influential,  than  president 
Burr.  To  the  church  of  which  he  was  a  minister,  and  to  the  college 
of  which  he  was  the  president,  the  loss  and  the  regret  which  his 
death  occasioned,  cannot  now  be  easily  estimated.   But  in  no  service 


508  NOTES. 


probably,  had  it  been  left  to  his  choice,  would  he  more  willingly  have 
resigned  his  life,  than  in  that  which  is  believed  to  have  hastened  its 
termination.  All  accounts  agree  that  the  disease  of  which  he  died 
was  greatly  aggravated,  if  not  entirely  produced,  by  the  exertions 
which  he  made,  in  a  state  of  exhaustion  and  debility,  to  prepare  and 
preach  the  funeral  sermon  of  Governor  Belcher.  These  eminent 
men  and  endeared  friends  expired  within  a  month  of  each  other : 
the  Governor  on  the  31st  of  August,  the  President  on  the  24th  of 
September,  1757.  The  shock  which  the  college  felt  by  the  fall  of 
these  two  pillars,  on  which  it  had  seemed  principally  to  lean,  was 
feared  at  the  time  to  threaten  it  with  lasting  injury,  if  not  with  entire 
prostration.  But  its  establishment  was  more  deeply  and  firmly  fixed 
than  was  then  perceptible ;  and  the  God  of  providence,  amidst  all 
the  succeeding  gloom,  watched  over  and  sustained  the  work,  or 
which  for  ten  successive  years,  its  uninterrupted  smiles  had  rested. 

Aaron  Burr,  the  second  president  of  New- Jersey  college,  was 
a  native  of  Fairfield,  in  Connecticut,  and  was  born  in  the  year  1716. 
His  ancestors,  for  a  number  of  generations,  had  lived  in  that  colony, 
and  were  persons  of  great  respectability.  He  descended,  it  is  believ- 
ed, from  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Burr,  of  Dorchester.  He  was  gradua- 
ted at  Yale  College  in  1735.  In  1738,  he  was  invited  to  take  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  at  Newark,  in  New-Jersey, 
and  was  ordained  as  its  pastor.  Here  he  became  so  eminent,  as  an 
able  and  learned  divine,  and  an  accomplished  scholar,  that  in  1748, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  president  of  the  college,  as  successor  to 
Mr.  Dickinson.  In  1754,  he  accompanied  Mr.  Whitefield  to  Boston, 
having  a  high  esteem  for  the  character  of  that  eloquent  itinerant 
preacher,  and  greatly  rejoicing  in  the  success  of  his  labours.  After 
a  life  of  usefulness  and  honor,  devoted  to  his  Master  in  heaven,  he 
was  called  into  the  eternal  world,  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  being  in 
the  forty-second  year  of  his  age. 

President  Burr  was  a  person  of  a  slender  and  a  delicate  make,  yet 
to  encounter  fatigue  he  had  a  heart  of  steel.  To  amazing  talents  for 
the  despatch  of  business  he  joined  a  constancy  of  mind,  that  common- 
ly secured  to  him  success.  As  long  as  an  enterprise  appeared  possi- 
ble, he  yielded  to  no  discouragement.  The  flourishing  state  of  the 
college  of  New-Jersey,  was  much  owing  to  his  great  and  assiduous 
exertion.  When  his  services  were  requested  by  the  trustees  of  the 
college  in  soliciting  donations  for  the  purchase  of  a  library  and  philo- 
sophical apparatus,  and  for  erecting  a  building  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  students,  he  engaged  with  his  usual  zeal  in  the  undertak- 
ing, and  every  where  met  with  the  encouragement,  which  the  design 
s»  fully  deserved.     Until  the  autumn  of  1755,  he  discharged  the  du» 


NOTES.  309 

ties  both  of  president  and  pastor  of  a  church.  At  that  time  his  pas- 
toral relation  to  his  people  was  dissolved ;  and  he  devoted  himself 
wholly  to  the  service  of  the  college. 

Few  men  were  more  perfect  in  the  art  of  rendering  themselves 
agreeable  in  company.  He  knew  the  avenues  to  the  l^uman  heart,  and 
he  possessed  the  rare  power  of  pleasing,  without  betraying  a  design 
to  please.  As  he  was  free  from  ostentation  and  parade,  no  one  would 
have  suspected  his  learning,  unless  his  subject  required  him  to  dis- 
play it,  and  then  every  one  was  surprised  that  a  person  so  well  ac- 
quainted with  books,  should  yet  possess  such  ease  in  conversation, 
and  such  freedom  of  behaviour.  He  inspired  all  around  him  with 
cheerfulness.  His  arms  were  open  to  good  men  of  every  denomina- 
tion. A  sweetness  of  temper,  o])liging  courtesy  and  mildness  of  man- 
ners, joined  to  an  engaging  candor  of  sentiment,  spread  a  glory  over 
his  reputation,  and  endeared  his  person  to  all  his  acquaintance. 
Though  steady  to  his  own  principles,  he  was  free  from  all  bigotry. 

In  the  pulpit  he  shone  with  superior  lustre.  He  was  fluent,  copi- 
ous, sublime,  and  persuasive.  Ha\  ing  a  clear  and  harmonious  voice, 
which  was  capable  of  expressing  the  various  passions,  and  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  his  subjects,  he  could  not  fail  to  reach  the  heart.  His 
invention  was  exhaustless,  and  his  elocution  was  equal  to  his  ideas. 
He  was  not  one  of  those  preachers,  who  soothe  their  hearers  with 
a  delusive  hope  of  safety,  who  substitute  morality  in  the  place  of  ho- 
liness, and  yield  the  important  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  through  the 
fear  of  displeasing  the  more  reputable  sinners.  He  insisted  upon  the 
great  and  universal  duty  of  repentance,  as  all  were  guilty  and  con- 
demned by  the  divine  law.  He  never  wished  to  administer  consola- 
tion, till  the  heart  was  renewed  and  consecrated  unto  God.  When 
he  saw  the  soul  humbled,  he  then  dwelt  upon  the  riches  of  redeem- 
ing mercy,  and  expatiated  upon  the  glories  of  Him,  who  was  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh.  It  was  his  endeavour  to  alarm  the  thought- 
less, to  fix  upon  the  conscience  a  sense  of  sin,  to  revive  the  disconso- 
late, to  animate  the  penitent,  to  reclaim  the  relapsing,  to  confirm 
the  irresolute,  and  to  establish  the  faithful.  He  wished  to  restore  to 
man  the  beautiful  image  of  God,  disfigured  by  the  apostacy.  His 
life  and  example  were  a  comment  on  his  sermons;  and  by  his  en- 
gaging deportment  he  rendered  the  amiable  character  of  a  christiua 
still  more  attractive  and  lovely. 

He  was  distinguished  for  his  public  spirit.  Amidst  his  other  cares 
be  studied,  and  planned,  and  toiled  for  the  good  of  his  country.  He 
had  a  high  sense-  of  English  liberty,  and  detested  despotic  power 
as  the  bane  of  human  happiness.  He  considered  the  heresy  of  Arius 
as  not  more  fatal  to  the  purity  of  the  gospel,  tlian  the  positions  9i 


310  NOTES. 

Film  er  were  to  the  dignity  of  man  and  the  repose  of  states.  But 
though  he  had  much  of  that  patriotic  spirit,  which  is  ornamental 
even  to  a  christian  minister,  he  very  cautio^ly  intermeddled  Avith 
any  matters  of  a  political  nature  ;  being  aware  of  the  invidious  con- 
structions, which  are  commonly  put  upon  the  most  unexceptionable 
attempts,  made  by  men  of  his  profession  to  promote  the  public  wel- 
fare. He  was  a  correspondent  of  the  Scotch  society  for  propagating 
the  gospel;  and  he  thought  no  labor  too  great  in tlie prosecution  of  an 
enterprise,  which  promised  to  illuminate  the  gloomy  wilderness  with 
the  beams  of  evangelical  truth. 

He  presided  over  the  college  with  dignity  and  reputation.  He  had 
tiie  most  engaging  method  of  instruction,  and  a  singular  talent  in 
communicating  his  sentiments.  While  he  stripped  learning  of  its 
mysteries,  and  presented  the  most  intricate  subjects  in  the  clearest 
light,  and  thus  enriched  his  pupils  with  the  treasures  of  learning,  he 
wished  also  to  implant  in  their  minds  the  seeds  of  virtue  and  religion. 
He  took  indefatigable  pains  in  regard  to  their  religious  instruction, 
and  with  zeal,  solicitude,  and  parental  affection,  pressed  upon  them 
the  care  of  their  souls  ;  and  with  melting  tenderness  urged  the  im- 
portance of  their  becoming  the  true  disciples  of  the  holy  Jesus.  In 
some  instsnces  his  pious  exertions  were  attended  with  success.  In 
the  government  of  the  college  he  exhibited  the  greatest  impartiality 
and  v/isdom.  Though  in  judgment  and  temper  inclined  to  mild  mea- 
sures, when  these  failed,  he  would  resort  Xo  a  necessary  severity  ; 
and  no  connexions  could  prevent  the  equal  distributions  of  justice. 
In  no  college  were  the  students  more  narrowly  inspected  and  pru- 
dently guarded,  or  vice  of  every  kind  more  effectually  searched  out, 
and  discountenanced  or  suppressed.  He  secured  with  the  same  ease 
the  obedience  and  love  of  his  pupils. 

The  vear  after  he  took  his  first  degree  he  resided  at  New-Haven, 
and  this  was  the  period,  when  his  mind  was  first  enlightened  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  way  cf  salvation.  In  his  private  papers  he 
wrote  as  follows :  "  this  year  God  saw  fit  to  open  my  eyes,  and  shew 
me  what  a  miserable  creature  I  was.  Till  then  I  had  spent  my  life 
in  a  dream  ;  and,  as  to  the  great  design  of  my  being,  had  lived  in 
A'ain.  Though  before  I  had  been  under  frequent  convictions,  and 
was  driven  to  a  form  of  religion,  yet  I  knew  nothing  as  I  ought  to 
know.  But  then  I  was  brought  to  the  footstool  of  sovereign  grace  ; 
saw  myself  polhited  by  nature  and  practice  ;  had  affecting  views  of 
the  divine  wrath  I  deserved ;  was  made  to  despair  of  help  in  myself, 
and  almost  concluded  that  my  day  of  grace  was  past.  It  pleased 
God,  at  length,  to  reveal  his  Son  to  me  in  the  gospel,  as  an  all  suffi- 
cient and  willing  Saviour,  and  I  hope  inclined  me  to  receive  him  on 


NOTES.  311 

tkc  terms  of  the  gospel.  I  received  some  consolation,  and  found  a 
great  change  in  myself.  Before  this  I  was  strongly  attached  to  the 
Arminian  scheme ;  but  then  I  was  made  to  see  those  things  in  a  dif- 
ferent light,  and  seemingly  felt  the  truth  of  the  C.ilvinian  doctrines.'* 
He  was  unfluctuating  in  principles,  and  ardent  in  devotion,  raising 
his  heart  continually  to  the  Father  of  mercies  in  adoration  and 
praise.  He  kept  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  high  destiny  of  man,  and 
lived  a  spiritual  life.  The  efficacy  of  his  religious  ])rinciplcs  was 
evinced  by  his  benevolence  and  charity.  From  the  grace  of  God  he 
received  a  liberal  and  generous  disposition,  and  from  his  bounty  the 
power  of  gratifying  the  desire  of  doin^  good. 

At  the  approach  of  death  that  gospel,  which  he  had  preached  to 
others,  and  which  discloses  a  crucified  Redeemer,  gave  him  support. 
He  was  patient  and  resigned,  and  was  cheered  with  the  liveliest 
hope.     The  king  of  terrors  was  disarmed  of  his  sting. 

Mr.  Burr  married  in  1752,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  his 
successor  in  the  presidency  of  the  college.  She  died  in  1758,  the 
year  after  the  death  of  her  husband,  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of 
her  age  ;  leaving  two  children,  one  of  whom  was  Aaron  Burr,  late 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  other  a  daughter,  who 
was  married  to  Judge  Reeve,  of  Connecticut.  She  died  a  number  of 
years  ago.  Mrs.  Burr  was  in  every  respect  an  ornament  to  her  sex, 
being  equally  distinguished  for  the  suavity  of  her  manners,  her  lite- 
crary  accomplishments,  and  her  unfeigned  regard  to  religion.  She 
combined  a  lively  imagination,  a  penetrating  mind,  and  a  correct 
judgment.  When  only  seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  she  was  brought 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  her  conduct  througli 
life  was  becoming  the  gospel.  Her  religion  did  not  cast  a  gloom 
over  her  mind,  but  made  her  cheerful  and  happy,  and  rendered  the 
thought  of  death  transporting.  She  left  a  number  of  manuscripts 
on  interesting  subjects,  and  it  was  hoped  they  would  have  been  made 
public  ;  but  they  are  now  lost. 

Mr.  Burr  published  a  valuable  treatise,  which  displays  his  tal- 
ents in  controversial  theology,  entitled.  The  Sufireme  Deity  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  maintained  in  a  letter  to  the  editor  of 
Mr.  Emlyn's  inquiry,  re-printed  at  Boston  in  1791.  He  publish- 
ed, also,  .i  fast  sermon  on  account  of  the  encroachments  of  the 
French,  and  their  desi^s  against  the  British  Colonies  in  Jmcrica  ; 
delivered  at  A^tr-or^-,  January  1,  1755.  The  JPatchman's  ansxver  to 
the  question,  "  What  of  the  niglit  ?"  a  sermon  before  the  Synod  of 
A'ev)- York,  convened  at  A'twarX",  September  30,  1756.  yl  funeral 
sermon  at  the  interment  of  Governor  Belcher,  September  4,  1757. 


Kl      S I 


312  NOTES. 

On  a  marble  monumental  stone,  placed  over  the  grave  of  Presi- 
dent Burr,  in  the  burial  ground  at  Princeton,  by  the  order  and  at  the 
expense  of  the  corporation  of  the  college,  is  the  following  inscrip- 
tion— : 

M.  s. 

Reverend!  admodum  Viri, 

Aaroxis  Burr,  a.  m.  Collegii  jYeo-Caesariensis  Prsesidis* 

Natus  apud  Fairfield^   Connecticuteiuium  IV  Januariiy 

A.  D.  MDCCXVI.  S.   V. 

Honesta  in  eadem  Colonia  Familia  oriundus, 

Collegio  Yalensi  innutritus, 

Novarcx  Sacris  initiatus,  MDCCXXXVIII. 

Annos  circiter  viginti  pastorali  Munere 

Fideliter  functus, 

Collegii  JV.  C.  Praesidium  MDCCXLVIII  accepit. 

In  Aassovics  Aulain  sub  Finem  MDCCLVI  translatus. 

Defunctus  in  hoc  Vico  XXIV  Se^if.embris^ 

A.  D.  MDCCLVII.  S,  jY. 

jEtatis  XLII.  Eheu  quam  brevis  ! 

Huic  Marmori  subjicitur,  qood  mori  potuit ; 

Quod  immortale,  vendicarunt  Coeli. 

Quseris  Viator  qualis  quantusque  fuit  ? 

Perpaucis  accipe. 

Vir  corpore  parvo  ac  tenui, 

Studiis,  Vigiliis,  assiduisque  Laboribus, 

Macro. 

Sagacitate,  Perspicacitate,  Agilitate, 

Ac  Solertia,  (si  fas  dicere) 

Plusquam  humana,  pene 

Angelica. 

Anima  ferme  totus. 

Omnigena  Literatura  instructus, 

Theologia  praistantior  : 

Concionator  volubilis,  suavis  ct  suadus : 

Orator  facundus. 

Moribus  facilis,  candidus  et  jucundus. 

Vita  egregie  liberalis  ac  beneficus : 

Supra  vero  omnia  emicuerunt 

Pietas  ac  Benevolentia. 

Sed  ah !  quanta  et  quota  Ingenii, 

Industrix,  Prudentiae,  Patientije, 

Cjeterarumque  omnium  Virtutum 

Excmplaria, 


NOTES.  315 

Marmoris  sepulchralis  Angustia 

Reticebit. 

Multum  dcsideratus,  multum 

Dilectus, 

Humani  generis  Deliciac. 

O  !  infandum  sui  Desiderium, 

Gemit  Ecclesia,  plorat 

Academia  : 

At  Coelum  plaudit,  dum  ille 

Ingreditur 

In  Gaiidiiim  Domini 

Dulcc  loquentis, 

Euge  bone  et  fidelis 

Ser\e ! 

Abi  Viator  tuam  rcspicc  finem. 

PRESIDENT  EDWARDS*  ADMINISTRATION— irsS. 

The  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees,  which  took  place,  as  we  have 
seen,  Xmo  days  after  the  death  of  President  Burr,  was  not  adjourned 
until  a  choice  had  been  made  of  his  successor. 

The  record  of  this  transaction  is  as  follows — "  A  choice  of  a  Pres- 
ident of  the  college  being  proposed  to  the  board,  it  was  ordered  to  be 
put  to  vote,  whether  the  said  President  be  now  chosen  or  not ;  which 
being  voted  accordingly,  was  carried  in  the  affirmative,  ^^'here^pon 
— after  prayer,  particularly  on  this  occasion,  and  tlie  number  of  the 
trustees  present  being  twenty — the  Rev.  Mr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  of 
Stockbridge,  was  chosen  by  a  majority  of  seventeen  :  And  this  board 
requests  that  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Spencer,  of  their  number,  would 
draw  the  draught  of  a  letter,  requesting  that  the  said  Mr.  Edwards 
would  accept  of  the  said  choice  :  and  also  of  an  address  to  the  Hon- 
ourable the  Commissioners  for  propagating  the  gospel  umong  the 
heathen  in  America,  in  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts,  request- 
ing that  the  said  Commissioners  would  liberate  the  said  Mr.  Ed- 
wards from  his  pastoral  charge  of  the  Indian  Congregation  of 
Stockbridge,  and  the  mission  given  him  by  the  said  Commissioners ; 
and  that  the  said  letter  and  address  be  signed  in  behalf  of  this  board, 
by  the  Clerk  of  the  same. 

It  is  ordered  by  the  trustees,  that  twenty  pounds  be  paid  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Edwards,  for  the  expenses  of  removing  his  family  to 
Princeton. 

The  committee  appointed  to  draw  the  draught  of  a  letter  to  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Edwards,  and  an  address  to  the  Commissioners  in  the 
Massachusetts,  brought  in  the  said  draught;  which  being  read  were 

•82 


314  NOTES. 

approved  of,  and  the  Clerk  is  ordered  to  transcribe  the  same,  and 
send  them,  as  soon  as  may  be,  to  the  persons  for  whom  they  are 
designed.'* 

It  appears  by  a  vote  of  the  trustees,  at  a  subsequent  meeting,  that 
they  awarded  "  the  sum  of  eleven  pounds  to  be  paid  to  the  Rev. 
William  Tennent,  for  his  services  in  inspecting  the  government  of 
the  college."  This  inspection,  therefore,  appears  to  have  been  con- 
fided to  that  gentleman,  during  the  period  which  elapsed  between 
the  death  of  Mr.  Burr  and  the  next  meeting  of  the  board  ;  although 
there  is  no  record  of  his  appointment  for  that  purpose.  The  instruc- 
tion of  the  college,  while  destitute  of  a  stated  president,  was  almost 
wholly  committed  to  the  tutors  ;  of  whom  there  were  three,  and  of 
these,  John  Ewing,  afterwards  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ewing,  for  many  years 
the  distinguished  Provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the 
first  in  rank  and  in  efficiency.  He  was  graduated  under  Mr.  Burr, 
had  been  for  sometime  in  the  tutorship,  and  had  already  given  pro- 
mise of  that  eminence  in  science  and  infiuence,  to  which  he  soon  after- 
ward rose. 

Having  taken  the  necessary  measures  for  the  instruction  and  gov- 
ernment of  the  institution  till  they  should  meet  again,  the  trustees 
adjourned,  on  the  27th  of  September. 

The  next  meeting  was  *'  on  Wednesday  the  14th  day  of  Decem- 
ber, 1757." 

The  following  extracts  from  the  minutes  of  this  meeting,  will  ex- 
plain the  measures  which  were  then  taken  to  secure  the  services  of 
Mr.  Edwards. 

"  The  trustees  considering  the  contents  of  the  last  letter  received 
from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards,  particularly  relating  to  his  dismission 
from  his  present  pastoral  charge,  do  vote,  that  it  is  highly  proper 
that  one  of  their  members  do  endeavour,  if  possible,  to  attend  the 
ecclesiastical  council  who  are  to  convene  for  that  purpose,  and  rep- 
resent, in  behalf  of  this  board,  the  reasons  for  the  propriety  of  such 
a  dismission.  Voted,  that  if  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards  come  and  take 
upon  him  the  charge  of  the  college  this  winter,  that  he  be  entitled  to 
the  president's  salary  for  the  whole  of  this  year  :  and  that  he  have 
the  liberty  of  receiving  one  half  of  his  salary,  at  the  end  of  six 
months  from  the  last  commencement. 

The  Rev.  Messrs.  Caleb  Smith  and  John  Brainard,  are  requested 
immediately  to  proceed  upon  a  journey  to  Stockbridge,  if  possible  to 
attend  the  ecclesiastical  council,  to  convene  relating  to  Mr.  Edwards' 
dismission.  And  that  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds  be  paid  them 
for  their  services. 


NOTES.  515 

Voted,  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  David  Cowcll  be  president  of  this  col- 
lege, until  the  next  meeting  of  the  trustees  :  And  the  choice  of  the 
said  Mr.  Cowcll  being  made  known  to  him,  he  was  pleased  to  accept 
of  the  same,  and  was  qualified  as  the  charter  directs. 

Voted,  that  the  president  of  the  college,  and  the  clerk  for  the  time 
being,  be  a  committee  to  transact  the  affair  about  Mr.  Edwards's 
removal:  and  if  there  be  necessity,  that  they  may  convene  any 
three,  or  a  lesser  number,  of  members  to  assist  them. 

Voted,  that  president  Cowell  provide,  as  soon  as  possible,  an  Usher 
for  the  grammar  school." 

The  next  meeting  of  the  board  was  "  on  Thursday  the  16th  day  of 
February,  A.  D.  1758,"  when  it  was  "  Ordered,  that  the  Rev.  David 
Cowell  be  paid  the  sum  of  eleven  pounds,  for  his  services  in  inspect- 
ing the  government  of  the  college." 

The  following  records  relate  to  Mr.  Edwards,  and  the  general 
concerns  of  the  institution — 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  at  the  repeated  requests  and 
invitation  of  this  board,  and  agreeable  to  a  \  ote  passed  at  a  meeting 
of  the  trustees  in  September  Idst,  attending,  and  having  been  pleas- 
ed to  accept  the  office  of  President  of  this  college,  so  unanimously 
voted  him,  was  qualified  as  the  charter  directs  :  and  the  said  Pres- 
ident Edwards  was  at  the  same  time  qualified  as  a  trustee  of  the 
college,  and  took  his  seat  accordingly. 

Voted,  that  the  law  obliging  the  students  to  wear  particular  habits 
be  repealed- 

Voted,  that  if  a  new  Goveraor  be  appointed  and  come  into  the 
Province  before  the  next  trustee  meeting,  that  President  Edwards' 
and  the  Clerk  be  empowered  to  address  the  Governor,  in  the  name 
of  the  trustees. 

Voted,  that  President  Edwards  have  the  direction,  care  and  gov- 
ernment of  the  Grammar  school,  with  its  masters  and  ushers,  and 
have  authority  to  introduce  the  elements  of  Geography,  History,  and 
Chronology,  if  he  judges  proper  ;  and  that  he  have  the  profits  of 
said  school. 

Voted,  that  Mr.  Cowell  and  the  Clerk  be  empowered  to  agree 
-vvith  a  number  of  men  to  be  managers  of  a  lottery,  to  be  drawn  for 
the  college,  upon  an  island  in  Delaware  river  ;  to  raise  a  sum  not 
exceeding  £600,  besides  the  charges  of  management.  The  price  of 
the  tickets  to  be  two  dollars.  The  managers  not  to  be  paid  any  thing  ; 
for  managing,  till  the  lottery  be  drawn,  except  the  printing  of  the 
tickets. 

Voted,  that  the  treasurer  pay  for  printing  Governor  Belcher's 
funeral  sermon  ;  and  it  Is  desired  that  Mr.  Caleb  Smith  take  care  of 


316  NOTES. 

the  sale  of  the  said  sermons,  and  return  to  the  treasurer  the  money 
that  arises  from  the  said  sale. 

Voted,  that  there  be  a  trustee  meeting  for  the  future  at  every 
commencement ;  and  that  the  clerk  notify  the  absent  members  of 
this  vote." — Before  the  passing  of  this  last  vote,  although  it  was  in- 
dispensable that  all  degrees  should  be  conferred  by  a  vote  of  the 
board,  it  was  not  considered  as  either  indispensable  or  expedient 
that  the  board  should  always  meet  at  the  very  time  at  which  the  de- 
grees were  conferred.  This,  however,  has  since  been  the  uniform 
practice. 

As  dates  and  facts  are  best  ascertained  and  authenticated  by  con- 
temporaneous records,  the  author  has  determined  to  give  them,  as 
much  as  possible,  from  the  minutes  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  in 
the  very  language  of  those  minutes.  In  giving  subsequently  a  con- 
nected view  of  these  dates  and  facts,  it  may  not  be  easy,  or  practi- 
cable, to  avoid  some  repetition  ;  but  this,  it  is  believed,  should  be 
regarded  as  far  more  pardonable  than  the  want  of  accuracy  in  the 
substance  of  the  statem.ent. 

The  college  derived  reputation  from  the  election  of  Mr.  Edwards 
as  its  president,  and  from  his  acceptance  of  the  office,  and  his  en- 
trance on  his  duties  as  head  of  the  institution.  But  his  adminis- 
tration was  too  short  to  permit  him  to  do  it  much  service,  by  his 
instructions,  or  by  his  counsel.  He  did  not  act  as  president  for  a  longer 
space  than  about  two  months  ;  and  was  not  inaugurated  till  about 
five  weeks  before  his  death.  On  the  pressing  solicitation  of  the  trus- 
tees he  left  Stockbridge  and  came  to  Princeton  in  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, 1758.  His  arrival  at  the  college  must  have  been  in  the  latter 
part  of  that  month.  He  was  innoculated  for  the  Small  Pox  on  the 
13th  of  February  following,  three  days  before  the  meeting  of  the 
board  at  which  he  was  formally  invested  with  his  office  :  and  he 
died  on  the  22d  of  March.  Of  the  short  time  that  he  spent  at  the 
college,  the  larger  part  was  passed  under  the  influence  of  the  disease 
which  terminated  his  life.  The  records  say  nothing  of  the  manner 
in  v/hich  his  time  was  employed;  but  an  account  which  was  publish- 
ed not  long  after  his  decease,  and  which  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt 
is  authentick,  gives  some  information  on  this  subject,  which  will  be 
found  in  the  subjoined  memoir. 

The  reputation  of  President  Edwards,  as  an  author  and  a  divine, 
has  long  been  high  in  Europe,  as  well  as  in  America.  It  was  to  be 
expected  that  the  life  of  such  a  man  would  be  written  at  large,  and 
by  more  than  a  single  hand.  Such  has  been  the  fact.  In  giving  a 
biographical  sketch,  which  the  limits  of  these  notes  requires  to  be 
brief,  the  difficulty  is  not  to  find  materials,  b  '.t  to  condense  and  ar- 


NOTES.  Sir 

range  them  properly.  In  furnishing  memoirs  of  the  deceased  pres- 
idents of  the  college,  the  author  has  never  had  an  intention  of  doing 
much  more  than  to  republish  the  best  accounts  he  could  find  already 
>vritten  ;  with  such  corrections,  or  additions,  us  his  personal  knowl- 
edge might  enable  him  to  make.  In  pursuing  this  plan  w  ith  refer- 
ence to  President  Edwards,  he  has  drawn  from  several  sources — 
from  an  account  of  his  life  and  writings,  printed  in  Scotland,  in  1764; 
from  a  similar  account  prefixed  to  the  late  edition  of  his  w(^rks 
printed  in  this  country  ;  and  from  Allen's  biographical  dictionary. 
In  using  these  materials,  although  he  has  written  but  little,  he  has 
made  such  modifications  of  tlie  statements  of  others  as  were  necessa- 
ry to  adapt  them  to  his  purpose.  His  own  sentiments,  in  contem- 
plating the  life  and  labours  of  President  Edwards,  are  those  of  ])ro- 
found  and  affectionate  veneration  ;  so  much  so,  that  he  knows  not 
that  he  has  ever  read  or  heard  of  a  man,  of  whom  he  has  been  dis- 
posed to  say  with  more  truth  and  ardour,  than  of  Mr.  Edwards — I 
would  wish  to  be  such  a  man.  He  was  certainly  the  possessor  of  a 
mighty  mind.  As  such,  his  reputation  has  been  steadily  advancing 
ever  since  his  death;  till  at  length  the  British  writers,  notwithstand- 
ing their  tardiness  in  duly  accrediting  American  genius  and  talents, 
have  classed  him  among  the  great  masters  of  reasoning.  But  the 
highest  excellence  of  his  character  was,  that  his  great  powers  of 
mind  were  deeply  sanctified,  and  unreservedly  consecrated  to  the  glo- 
ry of  God  and  the  good  of  mankind.  He  was,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
writer,  one  of  the  most  holy,  humble  and  heavenly  minded  men, 
that  the  world  has  seen,  since  the  apostolick  age.  His  learning  was 
not  various.  Having  early  devoted  himself,  in  the  most  unreserved 
manner,  to  the  service  of  God  in  the  gospel  ministry,  his  studies  al- 
ways had  a  reference,  either  direct  or  collateral,  to  Theology.  But 
thus  emjdoyed,  such  a  mind  as  his  could  not  fail  to  acquire  science 
and  erudition,  to  a  considerable  extent ;  while,  in  its  favourite  pur- 
suits, eminence  of  the  first  distinction  would  certainly  be  reached. 
In  knowledge  of  the  sacred  scriptures,  and  in  every  thing  relating  to 
Theology,  he  had  few  equals — In  reasoning  on  theological  subjects 
he  had,  in  the  day  in  which  he  lived,  no  superior.  By  saying  this, 
the  writer  does  not  mean  to  subscribe  to  every  conclusion  in  Theol- 
ogy, at  which  this  great  man  arrived  ;  any  more  than  in  exi)rcssing 
his  admiration  of  the  powers  of  Mr.  Locke,  he  would  be  undt-rstood 
to  adopt  all  that  is  said  in  the  "Essay  concerning  human  understand- 
ing." Mr.  Edwards'  manner  or  style  of  writing,  has  no  claims  to 
elegance.  His  language  is  not  select  ;  he  is  utterly  regardless  of 
any  thing  like  harmony  in  the  structure  of  his  periods  ;  and  he  takes 
little  care  to  avoid  a  frequent  repetition  of  the  same  words  and  phr»- 


518  NOTES. 

ses.  His  whole  attention  is  given  to  his  thoughts.  But  in  conveying 
these  he  is  wonderfully  successful.  His  meaning  is  clearly  commu- 
nicated, and  carefully  guarded.  And  in  his  practical  writings,  he  is 
often  both  powerful  and  pathetick.  Is  not  such  a  writer,  all  other 
considerations  notwithstanding,  really  eloquent  i*  That  calm,  and 
close,  and  patient  thinking,  of  which  his  works  give  such  abundant 
proof,  would  seem  to  indicate  a  temperament  not  easily  excited. 
Yet  the  fact  was  otherwise.  His  resolutions  and  diary  show  that  he 
was  a  man  of  great  sensibility,  and  of  ardent  affections.  When 
those  whom  he  consulted  on  the  propriety  of  his  accepting  the  pres- 
idency of  the  college  unanimously  advised  his  acceptance,  he  burst 
into  tears  in  their  presence  ;  and  it  appears  that  he  frequently  re- 
tired to  his  study,  to  conceal  from  others,  the  emotions  which  he 


The  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards  was  bom  on  the  5th  of  October, 
1703,  at  Windsor,  in  the  then  Province  of  Connecticut.  His  father, 
the  Rev.  Timothy  Edwards,  was  minister  of  that  place,  almost  sixty 
years,  and  resided  there  from  November,  1694,  till  January,  1758, 
when  he  died,  in  the  89th  year  of  his  age,  not  two  months  before 
this  his  only  son.  He  had  ten  daughters,  four  of  'whom  were  older, 
and  six  younger,  than  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

Mr.  Edwards  entered  Yale  College,  when  about  twelve  years  of 
age  ;  and  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  September, 
1720,  a  little  before  he  was  seventeen.  While  at  college  his  charac- 
ter was  marked  with  sobriety  and  improvement  in  learning.  In  the 
second  year  of  his  collegiate  course,  he  read  Locke  on  the  Human 
Understanding,  with  much  delight.  His  uncommon  genius,  by 
which  he  was  naturally  formed  for  close  thought  and  deep  penetra- 
tion, now  began  to  discover  and  exert  itself.  From  his  own 
account,  he  was  inexpressibly  entertained  and  pleased  with  that 
book  when  he  read  it  at  college ;  more  so  than  the  most  greedy 
miser,  when  gathering  up  handfuls  of  silver  and  gold  from  some 
newly  discovered  treasure.  Though  he  made  good  proficiency  in 
all  the  arts  and  sciences,  and  had  an  uncommon  taste  for  Natural 
Philosophy,  (which  he  cultivated  to  the  end  of  his  life)  yet  Moral 
Philosophy,  including  Divinity,  was  his  favourite  subject,  in  which 
he  made  great  progress  in  early  life. 

He  lived  at  college  nearly  two  years  after  he  took  his  first  degree, 
preparing  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  After  which,  having  pas- 
sed the  usual  trials,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel  as  a  cajci- 


NOTES.  319 

didatc.  In  consequence  of  an  application  from  a  number  of  ministers 
in  New-England,  who  were  intrusted  to  act  in  behalf  of  the  English 
Prcsbytcriiuis  in  New- York,  he  went  to  that  city  in  the  beginning 
of  August,  1722,  and  preached  there  with  great  acceptance,  about 
eight  months.  But  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  tliat  society,  and 
some  special  difficulties  that  attended  it,  he  did  not  think  there  was 
a  rational  prospect  of  answering  the  good  end  proposed,  by  his  set- 
tling there  as  their  minister.  He  therefore  left  them  the  next 
spring,  and  retired  to  his  father's  house,  where  lie  spent  the  sum- 
mer in  close  study.  He  was  earnestly  solicited  by  tlie  people  to 
return  again  to  New-York  ;  but  his  former  views  were  not  altered, 
and  therefore,  however  disposed  to  gratify  them,  he  could  not  com- 
ply with  their  wishes. 

In  September  1723,  he  received  his  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
About  this  time  several  congregations  invited  him  to  become  their 
minister  ;  but  being  chosen  tutor  of  Yale  College,  he  determined  to 
continue  in  that  retirement,  and  attended  the  business  of  tuition  there 
above  two  years.  During  his  tutorship  he  was  applied  to  by  the 
people  of  Northampton,  who  had  some  powerful  motives  to  offer,  in 
favour  of  his  exercising  his  ministry  there,  and  especially  that  his 
maternal  grandfather,  Stoddard,  then  their  pastor,  by  reason  of  his 
great  age,  stood  in  need  of  assistance.  He  therefore  resigned  his 
tutorship  in  September  1726,  and  accepted  their  invitation,  and  was 
ordained  as  colleague  with  his  grandfather,  February  15,  1727,  iii 
the  twenty-fourth  year  of  his  age.  He  continued  at  Northampton 
twenty-three  years  and  four  months.  His  ministerial  labours  in  this 
place,  in  1734  and  1735,  were  attended  with  very  uncommon  suc- 
cess ;  a  general  impression  was  made  upon  the  minds  of  his  people 
by  the  truths  which  he  proclaimed,  and  the  church  was  much  en- 
larged. At  a  subsequent  period,  also,  in  the  years  1740  and  1741, 
there  was  a  remarkable  revival  of  religion,  in  which  Northampton, 
in  common  with  many  other  places,  partook  largely.  For  many 
years,  Mr.  Edwards  was  very  happy  in  the  love  and  esteem  of  his 
people,  and  there  was,  during  that  period,  the  greatest  prospect  of 
his  living  and  dying  so.  Indeed  he  was  almost  the  last  minister  in 
all  New-England,  that  would  have  been  thought  likely  to  be  oppos- 
ed by  his  people.  But  the  event  demonstrated  how  uncertain  is  tlie 
continuance  of  popular  esteem  aud  favour  ;  even  when  nothing  is 
done  that  ought  to  diminish,  but  every  thing  to  increase  and  peipet- 
uate  them.  Mr.  Edwards  was  dismissed  from  his  people  in  1750,  at 
their  own  request,  and  with  every  indication  of  their  alienation  and 
resentment. 

The  circumstances  which  led  to  this  dismission  were  the  following  : 


S20  NOTES. 

Mr.  Edwards  being  informed  of  certain  immoralities,  in  which 
some  young  persons,  who  were  connected  with  the  church,  indulged 
themselves,  thought  that  an  inquiry  should  be  made  into  their  con- 
duct.     The  church  readily  acknowledged  the  importance  of  strict 
discipline,  and  entered  into  the  plan  ;    but  when  the  names  of  the 
persons   accused  were  known,  and  it  was  found,  that  members  of 
the  principal  families  in  the  town  were  implicated,  it  was  impossible 
to  proceed.      There  were  few  in  his  church,  who  continued  their 
zeal  for  discipline,  when  they  perceived,  that  it  would  enter  their 
own  houses  ;    and  the  hands  of  the  immoral  were   strengthened  by 
this  defeat  of  an  attempt  to  correct  their  errors  and  to  bring  them 
to  repentance.      After   this  event,  which  took  place  in  1744,  Mr. 
Edwards'  usefulness  in  Northampton  was  almost  destroyed.      A  se- 
cret dislike  was  excited  in  the  minds  of  many,  and  it  was  soon  blown 
into  a  flame.    When  he  was  settled  in  this  town,  he  was  not  perfect- 
ly convinced  of  the  correctness  of  the  principle,  which  was  support- 
ed by  his  colleague,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoddard,  that  unconverted  per- 
sons had  a  right,  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
supper.     After  diligent  inquiry  he  was  convinced,  that  the  principle 
was  erroneous  and  dangerous.     His  investigations  led  him  to  believe 
that  the  sacramental  supper  was  instituted  for  the  true  disciples  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  that  none  but  such  could  have  a  right  to  it  ;    and  that 
none  but  those,  who  were  considered  as  such,  should  be  permitted 
to  partake  of  it.      Adopting  these  sentiments,  he  had  the  courage  to 
avow  them.       He  considered  it  as  an  inviolable  duty  ever  to  vindi- 
cate the  truth.     He  knew  the  zeal  of  his  people  for  their  loose  prin- 
ciples, and  expected  to  see  that  zeal  bursting  upon  him,  if  he  should 
dare  to  stand  forward  in  opposition  to  their  long  continued  practice. 
He  anticipated  a  dismission  from  Northampton,  and  a  deprivation  of 
the  means  of  support.      But  in  the  full  view  of  these  consequences, 
he  openly   avowed  his  change  of  sentiment,  cheerfully  sacrificing 
every  worldly  interest  to  promote  the  purity  of  the  church  and  the 
glory  of  the  Redeemer.     The   evils,   which  he  anticipated,  came 
upon  him.      He  was  driven  away  in  disgrace  from  a  people,  who 
once  would  almost  have  "  plucked  out  their  eyes,  and  given  them 
to  him.'*      They  would  not  even  hear  him  in  his  vindication.      Mr. 
Edwards  had  been  instrumental  in  cheering  many  hearts  with  the 
joys  of  religion,  and  not  a  few  had  regarded  him  with  all  that  ajflfec- 
tionate  attachment,   which  is  excited  by  the  love  of  excellence  and 
the  sense  of  obligations,  which  can  never  be  repaid.      But  a  spirit 
of  detraction  had  gone  forth,  and  a  few  leading  men,  of  outrageous 
zeal,  pushed  forward  men  of  less  determined  hostility  ;    and  in  the 
hopeless  prospect  of  conciliation  he  was  dismissed  by  an  ecclesiasti- 


NOTES.  5^1 

Cftl  council  June  22,  1750.  In  this  scene  of  trouble  and  abuse,  while 
the  mistakes  and  the  bigotry  of  the  multitude  had  stopped  their 
ears, and  their  passions  raged  without  controxd,  Mr.  Edwards  exhib- 
ited a  truly  christian  spirit.  His  calmness  and  meekness  and  humil- 
ity»  and  yet  firmness  and  resolution,  were  the  subjects  of  admiration 
to  his  friends.  More  anxious  for  his  people  than  for  himself,  he 
preached  a  most  solemn  and  affecting  farewell  discourse.  He  af- 
terwards occasionally  supplied  the  pulpit,  at  times  when  no  preacher 
had  been  procured  ;  but  this  proof  of  his  superiority  to  resentment 
or  pride,  and  this  readiness  to  do  good  to  those  who  had  injured  him, 
met  with  no  return,  except  a  vote  of  the  inhabitants,  prohibiting  him 
from  ever  again  preaching  for  them.  Still  he  was  not  left  without 
a  number  of  excellent  friends  in  Northampton,  who  steadfastly  ad- 
hered to  him  through  all  his  trials  ;  and  his  correspondents  in  Scot- 
land, having  been  informed  of  his  dismission,  contributed  a  consider- 
able sum  for  the  maintenance  of  his  family. 

At  this  time,  the  Indian  mission  at  Stockbridge,  a  town  in  the 
western  part  of  Massachusetts'  Ba}',  fifty  miles  from  Northampton, 
being  vacant;  the  Commissioners  for  Indian  aff'airs  in  Boston,  who 
had  the  care  and  direction  of  the  mission,  applied  to  Mr.  Edwards, 
as  the  most  suitable  person  they  could  think  of  to  be  entrusted  with 
it.  He  was  invited,  at  the  same  time,  by  the  inhabitants  of  Stock- 
bridge,  to  preach  the  gospel  and  perform  ministerial  duties  among 
them  ;  and  being  advised  by  a  council  to  accept  of  the  invitation,  he 
repaired  to  Stockbridge,  and  was  introduced  and  fixed  as  missiona- 
ry to  the  Indians  there,  by  an  ecclesiastical  council,  called  for  that 
purpose,  August  8th,  1751. 

When  he  first  engaged  in  this  mission  there  was  a  hopeful  pros- 
pect of  its  being  extensively  serviceable,  not  only  to  the  tribe  of  In- 
dians which  was  settled  at  Stockbridge,  but  among  the  Six  Nations; 
some  of  whom  were  coming  to  Stockbridge  to  settle,  bringing  their 
«wn,  and  as  many  of  their  neighbour's  children  as  they  could  get,  to 
be  educated  and  instructed  there.  But  although  Mr.  Edwards  per- 
formed the  business  of  his  mission  to  the  good  acceptance  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Stockbridge,  both  English  and  Indians,  and  of  the  com- 
missioners, who  supported  him  honourably,  and  confided  very  much 
in  his  judgment  and  wisdom,  yet  his  labours  in  this  place  were  atten- 
ded with  no  remarkable  success.  Stockbridge,  however,  proved  to 
Mr.  Edwards  a  more  quiet,  and  on  many  accounts  a  much  more 
comfortable  situation,  than  he  was  in  before.  Here  he  followed  his 
beloved  studies  more  closely,  and  to  better  purpose  than  ever.  In  the 
six  years,  during  which  he  remained  in  this  place,  it  is  believed 
that  he  made  greater  advances  in  knowledge  than  ever  before_,  and 

T  2 


322  NOTES. 

added  more  to  his  manusci'ipts  than  in  any  equal  space  of  time". 
Probably,  indeed,  this  was  as  useful  a  part  of  his  life  as  any  ;  for  in 
this  place  he  wrote  his  treatise  '*  On  the  Will,"  as  well  as  that  on 
'*  Original  Sin  ;"  so  that  when  in  his  own  judgment,  as  well  as  that 
of  others,  his  usefulness  seemed  to  be  cut  off,  he  found  greater  op- 
portunities of  service  than  ever. 

The  well  merited  celebrity  which  he  obtained  by  his  publications, 
particularly  that  on  the  Will,  had,  doubtless,  no  small  influence, 
among  other  considerations,  to  induce  the  trustees  of  the  college  of 
New- Jersey  to  look  to  him  as  the  most  suitable  successor  to  his  son 
in-law,  Mr.  Burr,  in  the  presidency  of  the  institution.  Yet  such  was 
his  humility  that  he  looked  on  himself,  in  many  respects,  so  unqual- 
ified for  the  business,  that  he  wondered  that  gentlemen  of  such 
good  judgment,  and  so  well  acquainted  with  him,  as  he  knew  some  of 
the  trustees  were,  should  think  oi  him  for  that  place.  He  addressed 
a  letter  to  the  board,  in  which  he  laboured  to  satisfy  them  that  their 
choice  had  not  been  properly  made.  An  extract  from  this  letter 
has  been  published ;  and  no  one  can  read  it  without  a  conviction 
that  Mr.  Edwards  was  as  much  distinguished  by  genuine  lowliness 
of  mind,  as  by  any  other  quality.  He  thought  it  right,  however,  to 
submit  to  the  decision  of  some  judicious  friends,  the  matter  of  his  du- 
ty in  this  interesting  concern.  And  on  their  advising  him  to  accept 
the  presidency,  although  he  received  the  decision  with  much  emo- 
tion, he  consented  to  be  released  from  his  charge  at  Stockbridge ; 
girded  up  his  loins,  and  set  off  for  Princeton,  in  January.  He  left 
his  family  at  Stockbridge,  not  to  be  removed  till  spring.  He  had 
two  daughters  at  Princeton,  Mrs.  Burr,  and  his  eldest  daughter  that 
was  unmarried.  His  arrival  was  to  the  great  joy  and  satisfaction  of 
the  college. 

While  at  Princeton,  before  his  sickness,  he  preached  in  the  col- 
lege chapel  several  sabbaths,  to  the  great  acceptance  of  the  hear- 
ers ;  but  did  nothing  in  the  way  of  instruction,  unless  it  was  to  give 
out  some  questions  in  divinity  to  the  senior  class,  to  be  answered 
before  him  ;  each  one  having  opportunity  to  study  and  write  what 
he  thought  proper  upon  them.  When  they  came  together  to  an- 
swer these  question,  they  found  so  much  entertainment  and  profit 
by  the  exercise,  especially  by  the  light  and  instruction  Mr.  Edwards 
communicated,  after  they  had  delivered  what  they  had  to  say,  that 
they  spoke  of  it  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  and  wonder. 

The  Small  Pox  was  at  this  time  prevalent  in  the  vicinity  of 
Princeton,  and  likely  to  spread.  Mr.  Edwards  had  never  had  it, 
and  by  the  advice  of  his  friends  and  physicians,  he  was  innoculated. 
He  appeared  to  have  it  favourably,  and  it  was  thought  the  danger 


NOTES.  G23 

was  over.  But  a  secondary  fever  set  in,  and  by  reason  of  a  number 
of  pustules  in  his  throat,  the  obsti-uction  was  such  that  the  medicines 
necessary  to  check  the  fever  could  not  be  administered.  It  there- 
fore raged,  till  it  put  an  end  to  his  life,  on  the  22d  of  March,  1758, 
in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age. 

After  he  was  sensible  he  could  not  survive  his  sickness,  a  little 
before  his  death,  he  called  to  him  his  daughter,  and  addressed  her 
in  a  few  words  which  were  immediately  taken  down  in  writing,  as 
nearly  as  could  be  recollected  ;  they  were  as  follows — *'  Dear  Lucy,  i 
it  seems  to  me  to  be  the  will  of  God  that  I  must  shortly  leave  you  ; 
therefore  give  my  kindest  love  to  my  dear  wife,  and  tell  her  that   . 
the  uncommon  union  which  has   so  long  subsisted  between  us,  has    ■ 
been  of  such  a  nature  as  I  tinist  is  spiritual,  and  therefore  will  con- 
tinue forever  :    And  I  hope  she  will  be  supported  under  so  great  a 
trial,  and  submit  cheerfully  to  the  will  of  God.     And  as  to  my  chil- 
dren, you  are  now  like  to  be  left  fatherless,  which  I  hope  will  be  an 
inducement  to  you  all  to  seek  a  Father  who  will  never  fail  you.  And 
as  to  my  funeral,  I  would  have  it  to  be  like  Mr.  Burr's;  and  any 
additional  sum  of  money  that  might  be  expected  to  be  laid  out  in 
that  way,  I  would  have  it  disposed  of  to  charitable  uses."* 

He  said  but  very  little  in  his  sickness,  but  was  an  admirable  in- 
stance of  patience  and  resignation  to  the  last.  Just  at  the  close  of 
life,  as  some  persons  who  stood  by,  expecting  he  would  breathe  his 
last  in  a  few  minutes,  were  lamenting  his  death,  not  only  as  a  great 
frown  on  the  college,  but  as  having  a  dark  aspect  on  the  interests  of 
religion  in  general  ;  to  their  surprise,  not  imagining  he  heard,  or 
ever  would  speak  another  word,  he  said,  "  Trust  in  God,  and  ye 
need  not  fear."  These  were  his  last  words.  \\'hat  could  have  been 
more  suitable  to  the  occasion  !     And  what  need  of  more  I 

He  appeared  to  have  the  uninterrupted  use  of  his  reason  to  the 
last,  and  died  with  perfect  calmness  and  composure.  The  physi- 
cian who  innoculated  and  constantly  attended  him  in  his  sickness, 

wrote  to  Mrs.  Edwards,    on  occasion  of   his  death,  as  follows 

"  Never  did  any  mortal  man  more  fully  and  clearly  evidence  the 
sincerity  of  all  his  professions,  by  one  continued,  universal,  calm, 
cheerful  resignation  and  patient  submission  to  the  divine  will, 
through  every  stage  of  his  disease,  than  he.  Not  so  much  as  one 
discontented  expression,  nor  the  least  appearance   of  murmuring 


♦  Mr.  Burr  ordered,  on  his  death-bed,  that  his  funeral  should  not  be  attended 
with  pomp  and  cost  ;  but  tiiat  the  sura  which  would  have  been  requisite  fort 
modish  funeral,  beyond  a  decent  ouc,  slioulU  be  given  to  the  poor,  oat  of  his 
estate. 


324  NOTES. 

through  the  whole  !  And  never  did  any  person  expire  with  more 
perfect  freedom  from  pain  ;  not  so  much  as  one  distortion  ;  but  in 
the  most  proper  sense  of  the  words  he  really  fell  asleep." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  publications  of  President  Edwards ; 
Vith  the  dates  at  which  the  several  publications  were  made. 

1731  A  Sermon  preached  at  Boston,  on  1  Cor.  1.  29,  30. 

1734         do.  at  Northampton,  on  Matth.  16.-17. 

1736  A  Narrative  of  the  work  of  God,  &c. 

1738  Five  Discourses,  at  Northampton. 

1741  A  Sermon  preached  at  Enfield. 

1741  do.  at  New-Haven,  on  1  John  4.  1, 

1741  do.  at  Hatfield. 

1742  Thoughts  on  the  Revival. 

1746  Religious  Affections. 

1747  On  Prayer  for  a  Revival. 
1749  Ordination  Sermon. 

1749  Life  of  the  R«v.  David  Brainerd. 

1749  On  Qualifications  for  Communion. 

1752  A  Reply  to  S.  Williams'  Answer. 

1752  A  Sermon  preached  at  Newark,  on  James  2.  19. 

1754  On  the  Freedom  of  the  Will. 
^.  1758  On  Original  Sin. 

[This  last  was  in  the  press  when  the  author  died.  All  his 
other  works  were  collected  from  his  papers  after  his  de- 
cease ;  the  principal  of  which  were  published  in  the  follow-* 
ing  order] — ■ 

1765  Eighteen  Sermons,  with  his  life  prefixed, 

1774  The  History  of  Redemption. 

1788  On  the  Nature  of  Virtue. 

1788  God's  Last  End  in  the  Creation, 

1788  Thirty-three  Sermons. 

1789  Twenty  Sermons. 

1793  Miscellaneous  Observations. 

1796  Miscellaneous  Remarks. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Edwards,  the  amiable  consort  of  President  Edwards, 
^id  not  long  survive  him.  In  September  she  set  out  from  Stock- 
bridge  in  good  health,  on  a  journey  to  Philadelphia,  to  take  care  of 
her  two  orphan  grand-children,  who  were  now  in  that  city  ;  as 
they  had  been  since  the  death  of  Mrs.  Burr.  Having  no  relations  in 
those  parts,  Mrs.  Edwards  proposed  to  take  them  into  her  own 
family.  She  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  by  the  way  of  Princeton, 
September  21,  in  good  health,  having  had  a  comfortable  journey. 
But  in  a  few  days  she  was  seized  with  a  violent  dysentery,  which. 


NOTES.  325 

on  the  fifth  day,  put  an  end  to  her  life,  October  2d,  1758,  in  the 
49th  year  of  her  age.  She  said  not  much  in  her  sickness  ;  being 
exercised  most  of  tlie  time  with  violent  i)ain.  On  the  morning  of  the 
day  she  died,  she  apprelicndcd  her  death  was  near,  wlic-n  she  ex- 
pressed her  entire  resignation  to  God,  and  desire  that  Ciod  might 
be  glorified  in  all  things  ;  and  tliat  she  might  be  enabled  to  glori- 
fy him  to  the  last :  and  continued  in  such  a  temper,  culm  and  resign- 
ed till  she  died. 

Her  remains  were  carried  to  Princeton,  and  deposited  with  those 
of  Mr.  Edwards.  Thus  they  who  were  in  their  lives  rcmaikably 
lovely  and  pleasant,  in  their  death  were  not  much  divided.  Here 
are  the  father  and  mother,  the  son  and  dauglitcr,  laid  together  in 
the  grave,  within  the  space  of  a  little  more  than  a  year,  though  a 
few  montlis  before  their  dwellings  wei-e  more  than  150  miles  apart. 
Two  presidents  of  the  same  college,  and  their  consorts,  than  whom 
it  would  be  hard  to  find  four  persons  more  valuable  and  useful,  in 
a  few  months  are  cut  off  from  the  earth  forever ;  and  by  a  remarka- 
ble providence  are  put,  as  it  were,  into  one  grave  !  Mrs.  Edwards 
was  born  in  New-Haven,  in  Connecticut,  January  9th,  1709. — 
Her  father  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  James  Pierpont,  who  was  long  an  em- 
inent, godly  and  useful  minister  of  the  Gospel,  at  New-Haven.  She 
was  married  to  Mr.  Edwards,  July  20,  1727,  in  the  eighteenth  veal* 
of  her  age.  She  had  eleven  children,  of  whom  three  sons  and  five 
daughters,  survived  both  their  parents.  Mrs.  Burr  died  after  her 
father,  but  before  her  mother's  death. 

At  the  expense  of  the  trustees  of  the  college,  a  marble  monument 
has  been  erected  in  honour  of  all  the  Presidents,  since  Mr.  Dickin- 
jion.  The  following  is  the  inscription  on  the  stone  which  covers  tho 
remains  of  President  Edwards. — 

M.  S. 

Rcverendi  admodum  Viri, 

Jonathan  Edwards,  A.  M. 

Collegii  Novae  Cxsareac  Prxsidis. 

Natus  apud  Windsor  Connecticutensium  V.  Octobris, 

A.  D.  MDCCIII,  S.  V. 

Patre  Revercndo  Timotheo  Edwards  oriundus, 

Collegio  Yalensi  educatus ; 

Apud  Northampton  Sacris  initiatus,  XV  Fcbniai-ii, 

MDCCXXVI— VH. 

Illinc  dimissus  XXH  Junii,  MDCCL, 

Et  Munus  Barbaros  instituendi  accepit. 

Pr3cse«  Attlsc  NaiJsoYica:  creatus  XYl  Eebruarii, 


326  NOTES. 

MDCCLVIII. 

Defunctus  in  hoc  Vico  XXII  Martii  sequcntis,  S.  N. 
^tatis  LV,  heu  nimis  brevis  ! 

Hie  jacet  mortalis  Pars. 

Qualis  Persona  quxris  Viator  ? 

Vir  Corpore  procero,  sed  gracili, 

Studiis  intensissimis,  Abstinentia,  et  Sedulitate, 

Attenuate. 

Ingenii  Acumine,  Judicio  acri,  et  Prudentia, 

Secundus  Nemini  Mortalium. 

Artium  liberalium  et  Scientiariim  Peritia  insignis, 

Criticorum  sacrorum  optimus,  Theologus  eximius, 

Ut  vix  alter  se qualis  ;  Disputator  candidus  ; 
Fidei  Christians  Propugnator  validus  et  invictus ; 
Concionator  gravis,  serius,  discriminans  ; 
Et,  Deo  favente,  Successu 
Felicissimus. 
Pietate  prseclarus,  Moribus  suis  severus, 
Ast  aliis  aequus  et  benignus, 
Vixit  dilectus,  veneratus — 
Sed  ah !  lugendus 
Moriebatur. 
Quantos  Gemitns  discedens  ciebat ! 
Heu  Sapientia  tanta  '  heu  Doctrina  et  Religio  ! 
Amissum  plorat  Collegium,  plorat  et  Ecclesia : 
At,  eo  recepto,  gaudet 
Coelum. 
Abi  Viator,  et  pia  sequere  Vestigia. 

The  INTERVAL  between  the  death  of  President  Edwards  and  the 
accession  of  President  Davies — From  March  22d,  1758,  to  July  26th 
2759. 

The  trustees  met  within  a  month,  after  the  death  of  President 
Edwards,  on  "Wednesday,  the  19th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1758." 
The  following  extracts  from  their  records,  will  show  the  measures 
■which  they  adopted  in  consequence  of  that  mournful  event, 

•*  It  having  pleased  God  to  remove  by  death,  the  late  Rev.  Mr. 
Edwards,  President  of  the  college,  a  few  weeks  after  he  had  taken 
upon  him  the  charge  of  the  college  ;  It  is  ordered,  that  the  treasu- 
rer pay  unto  the  executors  of  the  said  Mr.  Edwards,  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  pounds,  being  the  one  half  of  his  salary  for  one  year,  which 
he  had  a  right  to  receive  at  the  end  of  six  months  after  the  last 
commencement ;  the  said  six  months  being  unexpired  notwithstand- 
ing. 


/ 


NOTE^.  S27 

The  Presidentship  of  the  college,  having  become  vacant  by  the 
death  of  the  late  President  Edwards  ;  the  trustees,  after  prayers 
particularly  on  this  accoiuit  being  made,  and  having  taken  deliber- 
ate consideration  of  the  matter,  do  elect  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jamks  Lock- 
wood  of  Wethersficld,  in  the  Colony  of  Connecticut,  to  be  the  Pres- 
ident of  this  college  ;  and  the  Clerk  is  ordered  to  write  a  letter  unto 
the  said  Mr.  Lockwood,  informing  him  of  the  said  election,  and  re- 
questing his  acceptance  :  and  Mr.  Spencer,  one  of  the  members  of 
this  corporation,  is  desired  to  wait  on  the  said  Mr.  Lockwood,  and 
deliver  him  the  said  letter — It  is  ordered  that  the  expenses,  attend- 
ing the  moving  of  Mr.  Lock  wood's  family  to  this  place,  be  paid  by 
the  treasurer. 

It  is  ordered,  that  Messrs.  William  P.  Smith,  Woodruff,  Pierson, 
Johnes,  Green,  Caleb  Smith  and  Braincrd,  or  any  four  of  them,  be  a 
committee  to  transact  the  affair  of  Mr.  Lockwood's  removal. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Caleb  Smitli,  is  appointed  President  of  this  college 
until  the  next  trustee  meeting  ;  and  the  said  appointment  being 
made  known  to  the  said  Mr.  Smith,  he  was  pleased  to  accept  the 
same,  and  was  qualified  as  the  charter  directs, 

2d  day  7  o'clock — The  trustees  met  according  to  adjournment. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Finley  is  appointed  to  take  upon  himself  the 
charge  of  the  college,  and  act  as  President  thereof  until  the  22d  day 
of  May  next,  and  the  said  Mr.  Finley  was  qualified  as  the  charter 
directs."  This  appears  a  singular  appointment,  after  Mr.  Smith, 
the  preceeding  day,  had  been  appointed  President  "  till  the  next 
Trustee  meeting."  No  reason  is  assigned  on  the  record,  but  it  is 
probable  that  Mr.  Smith  could  not  attend  at  the  college  till  the  22d 
of  May  ;  and  that  Mr.  Finley  was  therefore  appointed  to  serve  till 
that  time. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  board  was  "  On  Wednesday  the  16th 
day  of  August,  A.  D.  1758,"  when  the  following  proceedings  took, 
place. 

"  His  Excellency  Francis  Bernard,  Esq.  Governor  of  this  Prov- 
ince, having  been  pleased  to  attend  the  present  meeting  of  the  trus- 
tees, was  qualified  as  the  charter  directs,  and  took  his  seat,  a^  Pres- 
ident, accordingly. 

The  definitive  answer  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lockwood  of  Wethersfield, 
the  President  elect  of  this  college,  was  read  ;  by  which  it  fully  ap- 
pears that  the  said  Mr.  Lockwood  has  refused  accepting  the  Presi- 
dentship, agreeably  to  the  choice  of  this  board  :  Whereupon  after 
mature  deliberation,  the  board  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  Presi- 
dent of  the  college,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  SAMUEL  DAVIES  of  Vir- 
ginia, was  duly  elected  ;    On  which  the  Clerk  is  ordered,  as  soon  as 


3^8  NOTES.. 

possible,  to  communicate  notice  of  the  said  election  to  the  said  Mr. 
Davies,  and  desire  his  acceptance  thereof,  and  request  his  answer 
as  soon  as  may  be,  and  if  it  suits  his  conveniency  his  attendance  at 
the  commencement  :  and  the  treasurer  is  hereby  ordered  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  removing  Mr.  Davies'  family  to  this  place. 

The  Rev,  Mr.  Smith  is  desired*  and  is  hereby  empowered,  to  pre- 
side in  the  college  till  the  next  commencement :  and  then  to  give 
the  degrees  to  the  candidates  :  and  in  case  of  his  absence  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Cowell,  or  Cummings,  is  hereby  empowered  to  transact  the 
said  affair. 

2d  day,  8  o'clock,  the  trustees  met  according  to  adjournment. 

It  is  ordered  that  Messrs.  Caleb  Smith,  David  Cowell,  and  Rich- 
ard Stockton,  or  any  two  of  them,  be  a  committee  to  manage  the 
aifair  of  Mr.  Davies'  removal  hither  :  and  also  to  send  to  England 
for  what  books  they  may  think  necessary  for  the  use  of  the  college 
and  Grammar  school,  not  exceeding  d640  sterling  :  and  also  to  settle 
with  Mr.  Robert  Smith,  and  the  Executor  of  Mr.  Burr,  the  matter 
relating  to  the  surplus  of  the  expense  of  the  President's  house,  over 
and  above  £600,  for  which  the  said  house  was  to  have  been  built : 
and  also  to  conclude  about  finishing  the  President's  house  and  the 
college. 

It  is  ordered  that  the  pew  rents  in  the  Hall,  for  the  last  year,  be 
immediately  paid  unto  the  steward  of  the  college,  and  on  failure  of 
compliance  of  any  person,  that  such  person  forfeit  his  pew" — At 
this  time  there  was  no  church,  or  house  of  publick  worship,  in 
Princeton.  The  chapel  of  the  college,  here  called  '*  the  Hall,"  was 
used  for  the  purpose,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  as  well  as  by 
the  students  ;  and  the  President  of  the  college  was  always  the  stat- 
ed preacher  and  pastor — The  pews,  it  appears,  were  rented  to  the 
inhabitants  ;  and  the  above  order  was  made  to  compel  delinquent 
pew  holders,  to  pay  up  their  arrears. 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Finley,  is  hereby  authorized  and  desired  to  amend 
and  prepare  for  the  press  the  Newark  Grammar,  with  all  expedi- 
tion possible,  and  transmit  the  same  to  the  President  of  the  college 
for  the  time  being." — The  "  Newark  Grammar"  here  mentioned, 
was  a  Latin  grammar  compiled,  as  the  author  has  been  informed, 
by  President  Burr,  when  the  college  was  under  his  care  at  Newark. 
It  was  for  many  years  the  grammar  most  approved,  and  most  in 
use,  in  the  grammar  school  and  college. 

"  It  is  ordered  that  the  Rev.  Mr,  Finley  be  paid  the  sum  of  Ten 
poimds,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  the  sum  of  Forty  pounds,  for  the 
time  that  they  inspected  the  government  of  the  college  ;  the  said 
Mr.  Smith's  services  being  included. 


NOTES.  329 

The  committee  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  to  inspect  the  fund 
for  poor  schohirs  in  the  treasurer's  liands,  made  report,  that  there 
is  now  in  the  treasurer's  hands  the  sum  of  £500  proc  :  the  interest 
to  be  computed  from  October  next ;  which  sum  the  trustees  agre« 
to  be  accountable  for,  to  the  Synod  of  New- York  and  Philadelphia  : 
the  common  expenses  and  casualties  to  which  their  own  fund  is  lia- 
ble, excepted  " — The  fund  here  mentioned  was  formed  by  donations 
obtained  in  Enj^land  and  Scotland  by  Messrs.  Tennent  and  Daviet, 
for  the  education  of  poor  and  pious  youth  for  the  gospel  ministry. 
It  was  loaned  to  the  college,  and  was  originally  under  the  guardian- 
ship of  the  Synod  of  New-York,  but  was  now  transferred  to  the  Sy- 
nod of  New-York  and  Philadelphia.  The  unhappy  breach  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  an  account  has  been  given  in  a  for- 
mer part  of  this  note,  and  which  produced  the  rival  Synods  of 
New-York  and  Philadelphia,  was  healed  in  1757,  a  little  more  than 
a  year  before  this  record  was  made.  Both  Synods  were  now  formed 
into  one  body,  which  it  was  agreed  should  be  known  by  the  appella- 
tion of  the  Synod  of  New-York  and  Philadelphia  ;  and  from  which 
originated  the  present  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America.  The  fund  here  referred 
to,  was  almost  annihilated  by  the  depreciation  of  paper  money,during 
the  revolutionary  war.  The  interest,  arising  on  the  remnant  of  it, 
is  now  disposed  of  annually,  for  the  benefit  of  some  student  in  the 
college,  by  a  committee  of  the  General  Assembly  and  a  committee 
of  the  trustees. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  was  on  the  27th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1758,  the  day  of  the  annual  commencement.  But  the  rec- 
ord of  this  meeting  is  so  imperfect,  that  it  does  not  appear  by  whom 
the  degrees  were  conferred,  or  what  other  business  was  transacted, 
besides  conferring  the  bachelor's  degree  on  eighteen  alumni  of  the 
college,  and  the  master's  degree  on  seven. 

"  On  Wednesday  the  22d  day  of  November,  A.  D.  1758,"  there 
was  another  meeting,  from  the  records  of  which  the  following  ex- 
tracts seem  proper  to  be  made. 

"  The  committee  empowered  to  transact  the  affair  of  Mr.  Davies* 
removal,  having  produced  his  answer,  and  the  trustees  having  con- 
sidered the  same,  do  adjudge  that  the  said  answer  is  final,  in  the 
negative. 

2d  day,  8  o'clock — 

The  board  proceeded  to  the  choice  of  a  Vice-President  of  the  col- 
lege :  Whereupon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jacob  Green  was  duly  elected  to 
serve  until  a  President  is  chosen,  and  was  qualified  as  the  charter 
directs :    And  it  is  ordered  that  his  salary  be  at  the  rate  of  Two 

U  2 


S50  NOTES. 

Hundred  pounds  per  annum,  for  the  time  he  shall  serve  in  the  above 
character  ;  and  that  he  have  the  care  and  general  government  of 
the  Grammar  school. 

**  It  is  ordered  that  there  be  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  on  the  sec- 
ond Wednesday  of  May  next,  principally  designed  for  the  election 
of  a  President  of  the  College.'* 

Accordingly  there  was  a  meeting  "  On  Wednesday  the  ninth  day 
of  May,  A.  D.  1759"  from  the  minutes  of  which  the  following  ex- 
tracts will  give  information  of  the  most  important  business  trans- 
acted. 

**  The  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Davies  was  proposed  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency  of  the  college,  and  admitted  Nem  :  Cont :  and  also 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Finley,  was  admitted  a  candidate  in  the  same 
manner.  Whereupon,  after  mature  deliberation  of  the  premises, 
the  said  Mr.  Samuel  Davies  was  duly  elected  President  of  this  col- 
lege :  and  as  this  society  has  so  long  been  destitute  of  a  fixed  Presi- 
dent, and  by  means  thereof  its  former  flourishing  state  so  greatly 
affected,  the  trustees  desire,  and  do  hereby  appoint  the  Rev.  Mess. 
Caleb  Smith,  John  Brainerd  and  Elihu  Spencer,  of  their  number 
(who  design  to  meet  the  Synod  of  New- York  and  Philadelphia  on 
the  next  week)  and  any  other  gentlemen  of  this  board  who  shall 
then  be  there ,  to  request  the  said  Synod  to  dismiss  the  said  Mr. 
Davies  from  his  postoral  charge,  that  he  may  thereby  be  enabled  t» 
accept  of  the  said  office. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Green  having  fulfilled  the  term  of  his  former 
election  of  Vice-President  of  the  college,  he  is  hereby  appointed  to 
continue  in  his  said  office,  until  a  fixed  President  can  attend  for  the 
service  of  that  office. 

Mr.  Caleb  Smith  produced  a  plan  of  union  among  the  several  col- 
leges in  these  Provinces,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  President  Clap  of  Yale 
college  in  Connecticut,  which  being  read  was  referred  for  farther 
consideration."  It  does  not  appear  that  the  consideration  of  this 
plan  was  ever  resumed. 

An  extract  from  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  board,  hereafter  t© 
be  given,  will  show  tliat  Mr.  Davies  accepted  his  second  election  to 
the  Presidency,  and  entered  on  his  office  July  26th,  1759. 

Mr.  Davies  was  settled  in  the  ministry  at  Hanover  in  Virginia, 
about  twelve  miles  distant  from  the  city  of  Richmond.  His  sphere  of 
influence  there  was  wide,  and  his  usefulness  great.  No  minister  of 
the  gospel,  perhaps,  was  ever  more  beloved  and  venerated  by  his 
people  than  he — To  this  day  his  name  and  memory  are  mestimably 
precious  among  the  descendants  of  those  who  formed  his  pastoral 
charge,  or  who  only  occasionally  sat  under  his  powerful  preaching. 


NOTES.  331 

It  is  not  wonderful,  therefore,  that  he  refused  the  first  offer  which 
was  made  him  of  the  Presidency.  He  thought  that  duty  forbade 
him  to  leave  liis  people,  and  the  highly  important  station  which  he 
then  occupied.  Yet  the  claim  and  call  of  the  college  were  ultimate- 
ly yielded  to  and  obeyed,  sanctioned,  as  they  were,  by  the  explicit 
advice  of  the  Synod  to  which  he  belonged. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  trustees  were  divided  in  opinion, 
on  the  propriety  of  his  second  election.  He  and  Dr.  Finlcy  were 
both  admitted  as  candidates.  Davies  was  the  more  popular  and 
eloquent  man  ;  Finley  the  more  accurate  scholar,  as  well  as  already 
practiced  in  the  business  of  teacliing.  Neither  of  them  coveted  the 
office,  and  both  of  them  eventually  held  it.  The  most  ardent  friend- 
ship subsisted  between  them,  and  was  never  interrupted  or  abated. 

The  reasons  which  induced  Mr.  Lockwood  to  refuse  the  Presi- 
dency cannot  now  be  known.  He  was  a  man  of  great  wortli  and 
high  reputation.  The  ti-ustees,  however,  were  not  unanimous  in  his 
election.  This  is  not  apparent  from  the  minutes  of  tlie  board  ;  but 
Mr.  Davies  in  writing  on  the  subject,  to  his  friend  Doctor  Gibbons  of 
London  says — "  The  trustees  were  divided  between  him,  another 
gentleman,  and  myself,  but  I  happily  escaped." 

It  appears  tliat  "  the  former  flourishing  state  of  the  college  was 
greatly  affected,  by  its  being  so  long  destitute  of  a  fixed  President." 
This,  for  obvious  reasons,  was  natural  and  almost  unavoidable.  The 
college  on  its  removal  to  Princeton,  consisted,  as  we  have  seen,  of 
about  Seventy  Pupils.  This  number,  it  is  believed,  was  but  little 
increased  before  the  death  of  President  Burr,  and  considerably  di- 
minished before  the  accession  of  Mr.  Davies. 

The  trustees  who,  at  different  times,  acted  as  Presidents,  and  one 
for  more  than  half  a  year  as  Vice-President  of  tlie  college,  always 
preached  to  the  students,  and  probably  gave  them  some  religious 
instruction  of  a  more  private  kind.  Beside  this,  Finley,  Smith  and 
Green,  were  employed  as  teachers  in  language  and  science,  The 
others,  probably,  did  little  more  than  govern  and  preach. 

This  may  be  as  proper  a  place  as  any,  to  insert  an  account  of  the 
first  general  revival  of  religion  which  took  place  in  the  institution. 
It  will  be  observed  that  although  the  revival  began  about  six 
months  before  the  death  of  President  Burr,  its  influence  and  effects 
must  have  extended  into  the  period  now  under  consideration.  The 
account  is  from  the  pen  of  President  Davies,  in  a  letter  to  a  religious 
friend  in  Great-Britain,  about  four  years  after  his  mission  thither,  to 
solicit  benefactions  for  the  college.  It  is  dated  "  Hanover,  June  3d, 
1757 ;"  and  is  as  follows— 


SS2  NOTES. 

The  best  ncw^s,  that  perhaps  I  ever  heard  in  my  life,  I  lately  re- 
ceived from  my  favourite  friend  Mr.  Samuel  Finley,  minister  of 
Nottingham  in  Pennsylvania,  tutor  of  a  large  academy,  and  one  of 
the  trustees  of  the  college  of  New-Jersey.  I  had  sent  him  some  ex- 
tracts from  my  British  letters,  giving  an  account  of  the  revival  of 
religion  in  sundry  parts  of  England,  particularly  among  the  clergy  : 
in  answer  to  which  he  writes  thus : 

"  April  16,  1757,  I  greatly  rejoice  that  our  Lord  Jesus  has 

put  it  in  my  power  to  make  you  a  large  compensation  for  the  good 
news  you  sent  me.  God  has  done  great  things  for  us.  Our  glorious 
Redeemer  poured  out  his  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  students  of  our  col- 
lege, not  one  of  all  who  were  present  neglected  ;  and  they  were  in 
number  sixty.  The  whole  house,  say  my  correspondents,  was  a 
Bochim.  Mr.  William  Tennent,  who  was  on  the  spot,  says.  He 
**  never  saw  any  in  that  case,  who  had  more  clear  views  of  God, 
themselves,  and  their  defects,  their  impotence  and  misery,  than 
they  had  in  general :  that  there  never  was,  he  believes,  in  any  house, 
more  genuine  sorrow  for  sin,  and  longing  after  Jesus :  that  this  glo- 
rious work  was  gradual,  and  spread  like  the  increasing  light  of 
the  morning :  that  it  was  not  begun  by  the  ordinary  means  of  preach- 
ing, nor  promoted  by  alarming  methods  ;  yet  so  great  was  their 
distress,  that  he  judged  it  improper  to  use  any  arguments  of  terror 
in  publick,  lest  some  should  sink  under  the  weight :  that  what 
makes  the  gracious  visitation  more  remarkable  was,  that  a  little 
before,  some  of  the  youth  had  given  a  greater  loose  to  their  corrup- 
tions, than  was  ordinary  among  them  ;  a  spirit  of  pride  and  conten- 
tion prevailing,  to  the  great  grief,  and  even  discouragement,  of  the 
worthy  President :  that  there  were  no  publick  outcries,  but  a  deco- 
rous, silent  solemnity  ;  that  before  he  came  away,  several  had  rer 
ceived  something  like  the  spirit  of  adoption ;  being  tenderly  affected 
with  the  sense  of  redeeming  love,  and  thereby  disposed  and  deter- 
mined to  endeavour  after  universal  holiness." 

*  Mr.  Treat  and  Mr.  G.  Tennent  tell  me  in  theirs,  that  the  con-r 
cern  appeared  rational,  solid  and  scriptural ;  and  that  in  a  remark- 
able degree.  I  was  informed  by  some  of  the  students,  who  had 
been  my  pupils,  that  this  religious  concern  first  began  with  the  son 
of  a  very  considerable  gentleman  of  New- York.  The  youth  was 
dangerously  sick  at  college  ;  and  on  that  occasion,  awakened  to  a 
sense  of  his  guilt.  His  discourse  made  some  impression  on  a  few- 
others,  and  theirs  again  on  more  ;  so  that  it  became  almost  general, 
before  the  good  President,  or  any  others,  knew  any  thing  of  it.  As 
soon  as  it  became  public,  misrepresentations  were  spread  abroad ; 
and  some  gentlemen  sent  to  bring  their  sons  home.    But  upon  better 


KOTES.  333 

information,  the  most  were  sent  back  again.  The  wicked  compan- 
ions of  some  young  gentlemen  left  no  methods  untried,  to  recover 
them  to  their  former  excess  of  riot,  and  with  two  or  three  have 
been  lamentably  successful. 

*  Mr.  Duffield  (a  worthy  young  minister)  informed  me  the  other 
day,  that  a  very  hopeful  religious  concern  spreads  through  the  Jer- 
seys, especially  among  young  people.  In  several  letters  troni  Phil- 
adelphia, from  Mr.  G.  Tenncnt  and  otliers,  I  have  assurance  of  a 
revival  there,  for  which  good  people  are  blessing  God.  Lawyer 
Stockton*  informs  me,  th'.it  he  is  certified  by  good  authority,  of  a 
gracious  work  of  God  at  Yale  College  in  New-Haven.'* 

This,  Sir,  is  some  of  the  best  news  from  one  of  the  best  of  my 
correspondents.  You  will  join  with  me  in  blessing  God,  and  con- 
gratulating posterity,  upon  this  happy  surprising  revolution,  in  a 
college,  to  which  the  eager  eyes  of  so  many  needy  churches  look  for 
supplies.  Perhaps  it  may  afford  me  the  more  pleasure,  as  mv  hav- 
ing taken  so  much  pains  to  promote  that  institution,  gives  me  a  kind 
of  paternal  solicitude  for  it,  though  I  live  near  400  miles  from  it. 

The  finger  of  God  is  the  more  conspicuous  in  this  affair,  as  the 
students,  who  had  so  often  heard  such  excellent  sermons  from  the 
worthy  President,  and  from  the  many  ministers  from  various  parts, 
who  have  occasionally  officiated  there,  without  any  general  good 
effects,  should  be  universally  awakened  by  means  of  a  sick  boy. 
Though  this  college  was  well  founded  and  well  conducted,  yet  I 
must  own,  I  was  often  afraid  it  was  degenerating  into  a  college  of 
mere  learning.  But  now  my  fears  are  removed,  by  the  prospect 
that  sincere  piety,  that  grand  ministerial  qualification,  will  make 
equal  advances. 

PRESIDENT  DAVIES'  ADMINISTRATION— 

From  July  26th  1759,  to  Feb.  4th,  1761. 
The  following  extracts  from  the  minutes  of  the  board  of  trustees,, 
with  the  accompanying  remarks,  will  exhibit  the  time  of  Mr.  Da- 
vies'  accession  to  the  Presidency,  the  measures  which  were  adopted 
at  that  time,  and  through  the  remainder  of  his  short  administra- 
tion. 

♦  This  gentleman,  the  father  of  the  present  Hon.  Richard  St<»ckton,  LL.  D, 
•Was  a  iiK-mber  of  the  first  class  that  was  graduated  in  the  college,  the  same  day  on 
vhich  Mr.  Burr  was  chosen  President.  He  was,  at  this  lime,  a  trustee  ol"  tlie 
institution,  and  active  and  influential  in  all  its  concerns — For  several  )ears,  he 
performed  giatuitously,  all  the  duties  of  Clerk  of  the  board.  He  ros«  to  great 
eminence  in  his  profession  ;  was  a  jmlge  of  the  court  under  the  nn  al  govtrnuient, 
and  Cl»ief  Justice  of  the  State  of  Nt-w-Jersej,  aft^-r  llw-  dfclaraiioii  of  American 
IndepeudcDce.  Of  tht  C«iig;reb6  which  deoUred  that  ludependeucc  be  was  a  caea- 


S54  NOTES. 

**  Wednesday  the  26th  day  of  Sept.  A.  D.  1759. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Davies  having,  pursuant  to  the  measure* 
taken  by  this  board,  arrived  at  Nassau-Hall  in  July  last,  and  entered 
on  his  office  of  President  of  the  college,  upon  the  26th  day  of  that 
month,  was  now  qualified  by  taking  the  several  oaths  as  the  charter 
directs.  And  the  board  unanimously  voted  that  Mr.  Davies'  stated 
salary  shall  begin  from  the  thirteenth  day  of  May  last,  which  was 
the  day  of  the  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation  from  the  people  of 
his  former  charge. 

Ordered,  that  the  treasurer  of  the  college  pay  to  Mr.  Davies,  the 
sum  of  £60.  17.  5,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  removing  his  family 
from  Hanover  to  Princeton. 

Ordered,  that  Mr.  Davies'  salary  for  the  first  half  year  be  paid 
at  the  end  of  six  months,  and  half  yearly  for  the  future,  when  prac- 
ticable."—The  funds  of  the  college  at  this  time  were  so  scanty  and 
uncertain,  that  the  trustees  appear  to  have  been  afraid  to  pledge 
themselves  for  a  punctual  payment  even  of  the  President's  salary, 
beyond  the  first  six  months. 

"  Voted,  that  the  treasurer  pay  Mr.  Green  the  sum  of  £100,  for 
his  six  months'  services  in  the  college. 

Resolved,  that  this  board  do  entirely  relinquish  the  Grammar 
School  into  the  hands  of  President  Davies,  to  be  wholly  his  prop- 
erty, as  it  was  formerly  the  property  of  the  late  President  Burr. 

Resolved,  that  if  President  Davies  shall  choose  to  give  any  of  his 
sons  an   education  in  the  college,  that  he  shall  have  the  liberty  of 
educating  them,  free  from  the  charge  of  tuition  money. 
Thursday,  8  o'clock,  A.  M. 

Resolved,  that  President  Davies  be  desired,  as  soon  as  he  conven- 
iently can,  to  take  a  methodical  catalogue  of  the  books  in  the  college 
library,  and  order  the  same  to  be  printed  at  the  expense  of  the 
college. 

Resolved,  that  Governor  Bernard,  Messrs.  Davies,  P.  T.  Smith, 
W.  Tennent,  Finley,  Green,  Cummings  and  Stockton,  or  any  three 
of  them,  be  a  committee  to  draw'up  a  system  of  regulations  concern- 
ing admission  into  the  college,  with  the  necessary  qualifications  for 
degrees  ;  and  that  all  the  other  trustees,  who  choose  to  be  present, 
have  liberty  of  voting. 

ber,  and  his  narae  is  inscribed  in  the  imperishable  roll  that  accompanies  the  in- 
strument by  which  it  was  made  known  to  the  woikl.  Nor  was  it  the  least  of  his 
honours  that  he  was  "  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ :"  hut  was,  as  the  abov^ 
article  shows,  a  friend  to  revivals  of  religion.  He  publickly  professed  religion, 
adorned  it  by  his  life,  and  experienced  its  support  and  consolation  in  the  solemn 
hour  of  death.  On  the  occasion  of  his  «leath,  which  took  place  in  1781  j  the  late 
President  Smith  preached  and  printed  a  funeral  sennon. 


NOTES.  3S5 

Ordered,  that  Messrs.  Davics,  Tcnncnt  and  Cowell  be  a  com- 
mittee, to  purchase  a  lot  of  hind  contiguous  to  the  college,  belonging 
to  the  estate  of  the  late  Mr.  Samuel  Hazard  ;  and  if  they  shall 
think  proper  they  arc  hereby  empowered  to  contract  for  the  sale  of 
any  lands  belonging  to  this  corporation,  in  order  to  defray  the  ex- 
pense of  said  purchase. 

3  o'clock  P.  M. 
Resolved,  that  Governor  Bernard,  Mr.  P.  T.  Smith,  "William 
Smith,  Esq.  Mr.  Woodruff,  Messrs.  Cowell,  Treat,  Tennent,  Fin- 
ley,  Green,  Cummings  and  Stockton,  be  a  committee,  any  five  of 
whom  to  be  a  quorum,  to  consider  of  proper  measures  to  enlarge 
the  fund,  and  extend  the  usefulness  of  the  college — All  other  trus- 
tees present  shall  liavc  votes  in  the  above  committee. 

The  board  then  adjourned  to  the  last  "Wednesday  in  September 
next — to  meet  at  Nassau-Hall." 

The  committee  appointed  to  devise  measures  to  increase  the  funds 
of  the  college  had  a  meeting  at  Amboy  on  the  24th  of  October  of 
this  year  ;  but  were  not  able  to  resolve  upon  any  mctliods  that  they 
thought  would  have  a  probable  tendency  to  effect  that  purpose,  and 
resolved  "  to  postpone  the  consideration  of  that  affair." 

At  the  meeting  of  the  board  "  on  the  24th  day  of  September, 
1760 — the  committee  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  to  draw  up  a 
system  of  regulations  concerning  admission  into  college,  and  to  the 
degrees  of  bachelor  and  master  of  arts,"  made  a  long  report,  which 
was  amended,  and  adopted  by  the  board — The  substance  of  it  was, 
that  candidates  for  the  second  or  master's  degree,  if  alumni  of  the 
college,  should  reside  at  college,  in  ordinary  cases,  for  one  week  be- 
fore the  conferring  of  that  degree,  and  submit  to  the  laws  and  orders 
of  the  college  ;  and  be  examined  on  such  branches  of  literature  as 
the  trustees  then  present  should  think  necessary  ;  and  make  such 
preparation  for  commencement  as  the  officers  of  the  college  should 
judge  proper — That  graduates  from  other  colleges  should  be  admit- 
ted ad  eundem,  without  examination  ;  but  that  it  should  be  inserted 
in  their  Diplomas  and  publickly  declared  by  the  President,  in  con- 
ferring their  degrees,  that  they  were  conferred  "  honoris  causa  ;'* 
and  that  if  they  were  candidates  for  a  higher  degree  than  they  had 
elsewhere  received,  tHcy  should,  like  the  alumni  of  the  college,  re- 
side a  week  at  the  college,  and  submit  to  examination. — 

That  testimonials  of  good  moral  character,  signed  by  two  or  more 
gentlemen  of  note  and  veracity  in  the  place  were  they  had  resided, 
should  be  required  from  all  who  might  be  candidates  for  the  mas- 
ter's degree,  unless  personally  known  to  the  trustees,  or  officers  of 
the  coUe'^e— 


336  NOTES. 

That  any  person  might  have  liberty  to  offer  himself,  at  the  pub- 
lick  examination,  as  a  candidate  for  a  bachelor's  degree  ;  and  if 
approved  that  he  should  be  admitted  thereto  accordingly,  upon  pay- 
ing the  sum  of  eight  pounds,  being  the  tuition  money  for  two  years» 
exclusive  of  degree  fees. 

That  candidates  for  any  class,  higher  than  the  freshman,  should 
not  only  be  previously  examined  as  usual,  but  recite  for  two  weeks 
upon  trial,  in  that  particular  class  for  which  they  might  stand  candi- 
dates, and  then  should  be  fixed  in  that,  or  in  a  lower  class,  as  the 
college  officers  should  judge  them  qualified. 

At  this  m.eeting  it  was  *'  Voted,  that  for  the  future  the  President, 
or  tutors  who  shall  at  that  time  officiate,  have  liberty  to  appoint 
any  of  the  students  to  read  a  portion  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  out  of 
the  original  language,  at  evening  prayers :  and  that  when  they  think 
proper  they  may  substitute  psalmody,  instead  of  reading  the  Scrip- 
tures, at  evening  prayers."  It  is  believed  that  it  was  from  the  orig- 
inal language  of  the  New-Testament  only,  that  a  portion  of  Scrip- 
ture was  read  into  the  vernacular  tong-ue,  at  prayers  in  the  college 
chapel.  This  was  a  practice  long  continued,  and  which,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  writer,  would  better  never  have  been  altered  for 
the  later  practice  of  reading  from  the  vulgar  translation.  Every 
thing  which  is  calculated  to  promote  and  honour  an  accurate  ac- 
quaintance with  the  ancient  languages,  is  of  high  importance  in  a 
literary  establishment.  It  was,  how^ever,  the  officiating  officer, 
whether  President  or  Tutor,  that  commonly  read  from  the  Greek 
New-Testament,  on  these  occasions. 

"  Voted,  that  as  to  the  laws  which  are  enforced  by  pecuniary 
punishments,  the  President  and  tutors  have  discretionary  power  of 
inflicting  those  particular  fines,  or  of  substituting  any  other  punish- 
ment, short  of  suspension  or  expulsion,  in  their  stead — still  so  as  to 
be  accountable  to  the  board  of  trustees  for  the  use  of  this  power.'* 
The  practice  of  fining  the  students  for  small  offences,  or  omissions  of 
duty,  continued  till  the  time  of  Doctor  Witherspoon,  under  whose 
administration  it  entirely  ceased  ;  and  has  never  since  been  revived. 
This  mode  of  discipline,  however,  was  never  much  in  use;  nor  were 
the  fines  ever  permitted  to  rise  to  a  large  amount.  Doctor  Finley, 
in  his  account  of  the  college,  observes  that  "  it  w^ould  seem  to  be 
punishing  parents  for  the  offences  of  their  children" — and  apologizes 
for  it,  by  the  remark  just  made,  that  it  was  not  often  done,  and  that 
the  fines  were  always  small.  He  says  that  under  his  Presidency,  at 
the  time  he  wrote,  no  fine  had  ever  been  imposed. 


NOTES.  337 

"  Voted,  that  for  the  future  the  President  and  tutors,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  any  other  gentlemen  of  liberal  education  who  shall  choose 
to  be  present,  do,  betwixt  the  examination  and  publick  commence- 
ment annu;xlly,  examine  the  several  classes,  and  that  such  as  are 
found  unqualified  shall  not  be  allowed  to  rise  in  the  usual  courses- 
Mr.  Davies  is  believed  to  have  suggested  this  regulation,  which  hai 
been  regarded  from  his  time  to  the  present,  and  with  increased 
strictness.  For  a  number  of  years  past,  the  whole  college  has  been 
closely  examined  four  times  a  year.  Degradation  from  a  class,  how- 
ever, has  seldom  taken  place,  except  at  the  end  of  a  term  or  ses- 
sion. 

Nothing  has  more  contributed  to  render  education  in  this  institu- 
tion efficient,  than  the  strictness  of  examinations,  and  not  suffering 
those  to  advance  who  have  been  found  grossly  deficient  in  the  stud- 
ies of  the  class  to  which  they  have  belonged ;  and  of  course,  the 
refusing  of  degrees  to  those  who  have  not  had  some  fair  claim,  from 
actual  qualifications,  to  receive  them.  It  has  never  been  supposed 
thi.t  the  attainments  of  all  would  be  equal.  A  very  considerable 
disparity  has  always  been  expected  and  found,  among  the  members 
of  a  large  class.  Yet  reputable  attainments  have  been  demanded 
from  all.  And  there  have  been  a  number  of  instances  in  which 
students,  by  being  put  back  a  year,  have  been  roused  to  activity  and 
diligence,  and  have  eventually  received  their  degrees  with  honour 
to  themselves  and  to  the  institution.  Besides,  it  seems  not  easily 
reconcileable  with  propriety  and  ti-uth,  to  sign  and  seal  such  a  testi- 
monial of  acquisitions  in  language  and  science,  as  forms  the  very 
substance  of  a  diploma,  when  it  is  perfectly  known,  or  ought  to  be 
known,  that  the  acquisitions  specified  have  not  been  made.  Diplo- 
mas must  cease  to  be  valuable,  when  it  becomes  notorious  that  they 
are  obtained  without  merit. 

**  Ordered,  that  Messrs.  Davies,  Wm.  Tennent,  Cowell  and 
Stockton,  draw  up  an  historical  account  of  the  rise,  progress  and 
present  state  of  the  college,  and  print  the  same  as  soon  as  they  con- 
veniently can."  The  importance  of  an  historical  account  of  the 
college  was  thus  early  seen.  Subsequent  events,  however,  prevent- 
ed the  execution  of  the  order  here  given,  for  a  considerable  time. 
It  was  doubtless  expected  that  Mr.  Davies  would  be  the  writer  of 
this  history.  But  this  was  prevented  by  his  death,  shortly  after  the 
order  was  given.  The  labour  of  compiling  the  history  was  then 
assigned,  in  September  1762,  to  William  Peartree  Smith,  Esq.  The 
record  on  the  subject  is  as  follows — *'  Mr.  William  Peartree  Smith, 
one  of  the  members  of  this  board,  is  requested  by  the  trustees  to 
draw  up  a  full  account  of  the  college,  from  its  foundation  to  t^i^ 

X  2 


538  NOTES. 

time,  giving  therein  a  particular  account  of  the  state  of  its  fund,  the 
manner  of  education,  the  number  of  the  students,  and  all  other  mat- 
ters he  may  think  proper,  relative  thereto,  and  print  the  same,  at 
the  expense  of  this  board :  And  the  President  of  the  college  is 
desired  to  furnish  Mr.  Smith  a  state  of  the  facts  necessary  to  that 
purpose."  Mr.  Smith  declined  the  service  here  allotted  to  him,  as 
appears  by  a  record,  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  in  September  1763, 
in  these  words — "  Mr.  Wm.  P.  Smith  having  declined  the  service  of 
drawing  up  an  account  of  the  college,  the  President  of  the  college  is 
desired  to  do  the  same,  and  have  his  draught  ready  to  lay  before 
this  board  at  the  next  spring  vacation."  It  appears  that  the  requi- 
site number  of  members  to  form  a  board  did  not  attend  at  the  spring 
vacation ;  and  no  notice  is  taken,  in  the  subsequent  m mutes,  of  this 
whole  business  of  a  history  of  the  college.  Dr,  Finley  was  President 
when  Mr.  Smith  was  appointed  to  draw  up  the  account,  and  was  to 
furnish  that  gentleman  with  the  materials.  The  materials  were 
probably  collected,  when  the  concern  was  confided  to  the  Doctor 
himself  ;  and  as  the  board  failed  of  a  meeting  in  the  spring,  as  they 
never  mention  the  history  afterwards,  and  as  it  was  actually  pub- 
lished in  1764,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was  done  in  the 
summer  of  that  year,  by  President  Finley,  without  having  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  inspection  of  the  board,  previously  to  its  publication. 

From  this  history  very  little  can  be  learned  of  the  rise^  or  origin 
of  the  college.  Nor  ought  this  to  be  regarded  as  a  censurable  defect. 
It  was  then  "  proper  rather  to  say  nothing  that  was  false,  than  all 
that  was  true."*  The  schism  in  the  Synod  had  very  lately  been 
healed,  and  both  parties  were  still  smarting  from  the  blows  inflicted 
while  the  unhappy  contest  had  continued.  It  was,  therefore,  pru- 
dent to  leave  that  subject  untouched.  The  Province  was  still  under 
a  royal  government,  not  partial  to  the  Presbyterians,  or  to  the  col- 
lege. For  this  reason  it  was  proper  to  say  nothing  of  the  first  char- 
ter ;  in  which,  probably,  there  were  restrictions  which  it  was  wish- 
ed should  be  forgotten.  The  account,  after  what  has  heretofore 
been  quoted,  consists  chiefly  of  statements  relative  to  the  system  of 
education  pursued,  the  method  of  government,  the  expenses  of  the 
students,  the  want  of  funds,  and  the  claim  which  the  college  had  on 
pubiick  patronage.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  very  well  executed 
plate,  exhibiting  a  view  of  the  front  of  the  college  edifice,  the  yard 
which  lies  before  it,  and  a  part  of  the  President's  house.  An  addi- 
tional extract  from  it  will  hereafter  appear — Of  this  former  history 
of  the  college  it  seemed  proper  that  the  preceeding  account  should 

*  Johnron's  life  of  Addison. 


NOTES.  339 

here  be  given,  although  extending  considerably  beyond  the  period  of 
Mr.  Davics'  administration,  since  to  him  the  business  of  compiling 
the  history  was  first  committed,  and  probably  by  him  was  firbt  sug- 
gested. 

President  Davies  died  on  the  41h  of  February,  1762  ;  having  re- 
mained in  office  but  a  few  days  more  than  eighteen  months.  But 
even  during  this  short  period  his  reputation,  talents  and  services^ 
were  of  incalculable  benefit  to  the  institution.  His  popularity  in  the 
church  to  which  he  belonged  was  great  and  unrivalled.  He  was 
highly  respected  by  other  religious  denominations.  He  was  well 
and  personally  known  to  the  friends  of  the  college  in  Britain,  as  well 
as  in  America.  He  was  in  the  full  vigour  of  life,  with  a  mind  capa- 
cious and  ardent,  and  with  habits  of  activity  and  energy  fully  estab- 
lished by  time  and  use.  He  devoted  ill  his  time  and  faculties, 
unremittingly,  to  the  service  of  the  college.  We  have  seen  that  he 
was  instrumental  in  introducing  into  it  one  of  the  best  permanent 
usages;  and  indeed  every  change  that  he  made  was  a  manifest  im- 
provement. A  poet  and  an  orator  himself,  he  turned  the  attention 
of  his  pupils  to  the  cultivation  of  English  composition  and  eloquence, 
with  great  effect.  He  introduced  the  practice,  ever  since  continued, 
of  delivering  monthly  orations,  by  the  members  of  the  senior  class. 
He  presided  at  two  commencements.  At  the  latter  of  these,  a  po- 
etick  dialogue  was  publickly  recited,  as  a  part  of  the  commence- 
ment exercises.  It  was  afterwards  printed  in  a  handsome  quarto 
pamphlet ;  and  was  read,  in  his  boyhood,  by  the  present  writer, 
with  great  interest  and  pleasure  ;  but  he  knows  not  whether  a  copy 
of  it  is  any  where  now  to  be  found.  It  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
composition  of  the  President  himself,  although  this  was  not  stated  in 
the  publication.  The  subject  of  the  dialogue  was,  the  glorious 
achievements  of  the  British  arms,  both  by  sea  and  land,  in  the  war 
with  the  French  which  then  existed,  but  which  was  nearly  termina- 
ted. By  this  war,  conducted  chiefly  under  the  auspicious  adminis- 
tration of  the  first  William  Pitt,  afterwards  Lord  Chatham,  it 
is  known  that  the  French  power  and  influence  in  North  America 
were  nearly  annihilated.  That  great  minister,  and  the  generals 
and  admirals  whom  he  selected,  and  whose  successes  were  then 
recent  and  the  subject  of  much  popular  exultation,  were  eulogized  in 
this  poetick  dialogue,  in  very  animated  strains.  If  the  writer's^ 
memory  is  correct,  it  was  partly  in  blank  verse,  and  partly  in 
ihyme. 

The  number  of  students  under  the  administration  of  President 
Davies  cannot  be  exactly  ascertained.  It  probably  did  not,  at  any 
time,  exceed  a  hundred  ;  and  at  his  death  it  must  have  come  very 
little  short  of  that  number. 


340  NOTES. 

In  the  following  brief  memoir  of  this  distinguished  man,  the  au- 
thor has  taken  freely  from  various  publications,  and  has  inserted 
some  well  authenticated  facts,  which,  so  far  as  he  knows,  have  never 
before  appeared  in  print. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Davies  was,  it  is  believed,  of  Welch  descent, 
both  by  his  father's  and  mother's  side.  His  father  was  a  farmer  of 
small  property,  of  intellectual  endowments  rather  below  than  above 
the  ordinary  level,  of  unpolished  manners,  but  of  a  blameless  and 
religious  life.  His  mother  was  a  woman  of  very  superior  natural 
powers  of  mind,  and  of  eminent  and  most  ardent  piety. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  born  in  the  county  of  New-Castle, 
in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Delaware,  November  3d,  1724.  His 
mother,  after  the  birth  of  her  first  child,  a  daughter,  had  remained 
for  five  years,  without  the  prospect  of  farther  issue.  Her  desire  to 
be  instrumental  in  promoting  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer,  led  her  to 
pray  with  great  fervour  that  she  might  be  the  mother  of  a  man 
child ;  and  solemnly  to  vow  that,  should  her  prayer  be  granted,  she 
would,  like  Hannah  of  old,  devote  him  to  the  Lord,  for  the  service 
of  the  sanctuary,  all  his  days.  She  believed  that  the  son  whom  she 
soon  afterwards  bore,  was  given  to  her  in  answer  to  prayer ;  and  she 
called  him  Samuel,  that  she  might  at  once,  as  far  as  practicable, 
imitate  the  woman  in  sacred  story,  to  whose  circumstances  she  be- 
lieved that  her  own  were  analagous,  and  whom  she  had  taken  for 
her  example.  The  fact  here  stated  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Davies 
himself,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Gibbons  of  London,  with  this  addition — 
*'  This  early  dedication  to  God  has  always  been  a  strong  inducement 
to  me  to  devote  myself  to  Him,  by  my  own  personal  act ;  and  the 
most  important  blessings  of  my  life  I  have  looked  upon  as  immedi- 
ate  answers  to  the  prayers  of  a  pious  mother.  But  alas  !  what  a 
degenerate  plant  am  I !  How  unworthy  such  a  parent,  and  such  a 
birth !" 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  the  mother  of  Mr.  Davies  would 
regard  him  with  more  than  common  maternal  tenderness  and  solici- 
tude, and  would  labour,  from  the  first,  to  form  him  for  that  sacred 
service  to  which  she  had  devoted  him.  At  a  very  early  age,  she 
herself  taught  him  to  read,  and  his  proficiency  in  learning,  under 
his  mother's  instructions,  is  said  to  have  surprised  all  who  had  the 
opportunity  to  observe  it.  He  continued  at  home  with  his  parents 
till  he  was  about  ten  years  old  ;  and  as  there  was  no  school  in  the 
neighbourhood,  he  had,  till  that  age,  no  teacher  but  his  mother. 
Kor  does  it  appear  that  hitherto  he  had  experienced  any  remarka- 
ble impressions  of  a  religious  kind.  His  character  was  merely  that 
of  a  sprightly  and  docile  child,  under  the  influence  of  pious  exam- 


NOTES.  341 

pie  and  instruction.  At  ten  years  of  age,  he  was  sent  to  an  English 
school,  at  some  distance  from  his  father's  residence,  where  he  contin- 
ued two  years  ;  and  is  said  to  have  made  rapid  progress  in  his 
learning.  He  excelled  in  penmanship,  in  after  life  ;  and  he  proba- 
bly acquired  the  elements  of  it  in  this  school.  But  for  want  of  the 
pious  instruction  with  which  he  was  favoured  at  home,  !ie  grew, 
according  to  his  own  statement,  .sadly  careless  of  the  things  of  re- 
ligion. Yet  he  still  made  a  practice  of  secret  prayer,  esj)ccially  in 
the  evening.  The  reason  which  he  assigns  in  his  diary  for  his  punc- 
tuality in  his  evening  attempts  at  devotion  is  "  that  he  feared  lest  he 
should  die  before  morning."  But  what  is  most  observable  in  his 
prayers  at  this  time  is  "  that  he  was  more  ardent  in  his  supplica- 
tions for  being  introduced  into  the  gospel  ministry,  than  for  any 
other  thing." 

At  about  twelve  years  of  age,  he  was  awakened  to  solemn 
thoughtfulness  and  anxicms  concern  about  his  eternal  state.  And 
so  deeply  imprinted  was  the  rational  sense  of  his  danger,  as  to  make 
him  habitually  uneasy  and  restless,  till  he  obtained  satisfying  scrip- 
tural evidence  of  his  interest  in  the  forgiving  love  of  God.  Yet  he 
was,  afterwards,  exercised  with  many  perplexing  doubts,  for  a 
long  season  ;  but  at  length,  after  years  of  impartial,  repeated  self- 
examination,  he  attained  to  a  settled  confidence  of  his  interest  in  re- 
deeming grace,  which  he  retained  to  the  end  of  life. 

A  diary  which  he  kept  in  the  first  years  of  his  religious  life,  clear- 
ly shows  how  intensely  his  mind  was  set  on  heavenly  things  ;  how 
observant  he  was  of  the  tcm])cr  of  his  heart ;  and  how  watchful 
over  all  his  thoughts,  words,  and  actions.  Did  any  censure  his  foi- 
bles, or  juvenile  indiscretions  }  They  would  have  done  it  compas- 
sionately, had  they  known  how  severely  he  censured  them  himself. 
The  tribunal  erected  in  his  own  bosom,  was  more  critical  in  scruti- 
nizing, and  more  impartial  and  severe  in  passing  sentence,  than 
cither  his  friends  or  his  enemies  could  be. 

The  precise  period  at  which  he  made  a  puljlick  profession  of 
religion,  by  joining  in  the  communion  of  the  church,  the  compiler  of 
this  narrative  has  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  It  is  believed  to  hare 
been  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  his  age — perhaps  a  little  earlier.  It  is 
likewise  unknown,  at  what  age  he  first  entered  on  a  course  of  libe- 
ral studies,  or  who  was  his  first  grammar  master.  It  appears  prob- 
able that,  either  with  or  without  a  teacher,  he  had  acquired  some 
knowledge,  at  least  of  the  Latin  language,  before  he  was  put  under 
the  care  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Blair,  of  Foff's  Manor,  in  Chester  coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania.  Here  it  was,  however,  that  he  acquired  the 
jpreater  part  both  ef  his  academical  learning,  and  of  his  theological 


342  NOTES. 

knowledge.  Mr.  Blair  was  well  qualified  to  be  a  teacher  of  both  ; 
and  several  eminent  men  in  the  American  church,  beside  President 
Davies,  were  his  pupils.  Mr.  Blair  was  also  an  excellent  and  power- 
ful preacher.  Mr.  Davies,  on  his  return  from  Britain,  told  a  cleri- 
cal brother,  who  inquired  with  a  good  deal  of  earnestness  about  the 
eloquent  pulpit  orators  whom  he  had  heard  abroad,  that  there  was 
scarcely  one  of  them  who  exceeded,  and  that  most  of  them  came 
far  short  of  his  old  master,  Mr.  Blair  ;  both  as  to  the  matter  of  their 
discourses,  and  the  impression  produced  by  their  delivery.  Mr. 
Blair's  academy  was  conducted  on  the  same  plan  with  that  of  many 
cf  the  dissenting  academies  in  Britain,  at  that  time,  as  well  as  be- 
fore and  since.  Men  intended  for  secular  business  were  not  entirelv 
excluded  ;  but  the  chief  design  of  the  institution  was,  to  prepare 
youth  for  the  gospel  ministry.  Hence  the  acquisition  of  Theologi- 
cal knowledge  was  an  object  of  constant  attention,  throughout 
the  whole  academick  course  ;  and  when  that  course  was  finished, 
it  was  usually  but  a  very  short  period  that  elapsed,  before  those  who 
had  passed  it  were  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel.  Yet  it  is  not  to  be 
understood  that,  either  as  scholars  or  divines,  those  who  were  thus 
educated  were  generally  men  of  inferior  attainments.  On  the  con- 
trary, many  of  them  were  both  good  scholars,  and  profound  Theolo- 
gians. In  knowledge  of  the  ancient  languages,  and  in  acquaintance 
with  the  best  and  ablest  writers  on  systematick  Divinity,  their  suc- 
cessors, it  is  feared,  have  rarely  been  their  equals.  The  powers  of 
Mr.  Davies,  and  his  assiduous  attention  to  study,  would,  of  course, 
render  his  progress  unusually  great,  for  the  time  which  he  passed 
at  Mr.  Blair's  academy.  But  his  poverty,  it  is  likely,  prevented  his 
spending  as  much  time  as  was  common,  and  as  was  earnestly  de- 
sired by  himself,  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  before  he  began 
to  preach.  It  is  believed  that  the  period  of  his  residence  at  Fog's 
Manor  was  not  greater  than  five  years — ^probably  it  was  something 
less.  While  pursuing  his  Theological  studies,  it  is  known  that  he 
received  pecuniary  assistance,  by  a  sum  of  money  raised  among  the 
very  people  in  Virginia,  toward  whom  he  afterwards  sustained  the 
pastoral  relation,  but  to  whom  at  that  time  he  was  wholly  unknown. 
They  intended  it,  when  raised,  as  some  remuneration  of  the  servi- 
ces of  a  Mr.  Robinson,  who  had  first  preached  the  gospel  among 
them.  He  refused  to  receive  it  for  his  own  benefit,  but  on  their 
insisting  that  it  should  be  at  his  disposal,  he  told  them  that  it  should 
be  applied  to  aid  a  promising  youth,  who  was  pursuing  his  studies 
for  the  gospel  ministry.  It  was  given  to  Mr.  Davies  ;  and  on  his 
grateful  and  pious  heart  the  donation  made  such  an  impression  as 
was  never  effaced.     There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  it  had  a 


NOTES.  S4S 

very  considerable  influence  on  his  determination  to  settle  in  the 
ministry  among  this  people,  as  it  certainly  was  the  occasion  of  his 
being  sent  to  them  at  first. 

Not  having  access  to  the  records  of  the  Presbytery  of  New-Cas- 
tle, in  which  Mr.  Davies  was  licensed  to  preach  the  gospel,  the  wri- 
ter has  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  precise  time  of  that  licensure. 
In  the  monumental  inscription,  which  will  be  given  at  length  in  the 
close  of  this  memoir,  it  is  said — "  Natus  est  in  comitatu  de  New- 
castle, juxta  Delaware  3o  Novembris,  anno  salutis  rcparatac,  1724, 
S.  V.  Sacris  ibidem  initiatus  19o  Februarii,  1747.'*  As  it  is  well 
known  that  his  first  visit  to  Virginia  was  in  the  spring  of  the  year 
1747,  he  v/as,  no  doubt,  a  little  before,  ordained — initiatus  sacris — as 
an  evangelist,  or  sine  titulo^  with  a  view  to  qualify  him  to  perform 
pastoral  duties,  or  to  accept  the  pastoral  office,  if  he  should  be  cal- 
led to  either,  or  to  both,  in  the  mission  on  which  he  was  about  to 
enter.  The  probability  is,  that  he  had  then  been  licensed  but  a 
very  short  time  ;  for  his  intimate  friend,  Mr.  Bostwick,  in  giving  a 
sketch  of  his  life  and  character,  shortly  after  his  death,  says — 
'•  Scarcely  luas  he  known  as  a  publick  preacher,  but  he  was  sent 
to  some  of  the  distant  settlements  of  Virginia ;"  and  at  this  time,  he 
was  six  months  less  than  23  years  of  age. 

He  remained  in  Virginia,  on  his  first  visit,  but  a  few  weeks,  and 
then  returned  to  New-Castle.  The  remainder  of  this  year  and  the 
beginning  of  the  next,  were  spent  in  preaching  in  Delaware,  Penn- 
sylvania and  Maryland  ;  and  scarcely  was  there  a  vacant  congrega- 
tion in  which  his  voice  was  heard,  that  did  not  desire  and  endeavour 
to  secure  his  permanent  sei^ices.  In  the  mean  time,  he  was  at- 
tacked by  a  disease,  which  he  supposed  to  be  a  mortal  consumption 
of  the  lungs.  But,  although  he  believed  himself  to  be  on  the  borders 
of  the  grave,  he  determined  to  spend  the  little  remains  of  an  almost 
exhausted  life,  as  he  apprehended  it,  in  endeavo\||ing  to  advance  his 
master's  glory,  in  the  salvation  of  souls.  With  this  view,  he  went 
to  a  place  at  a  considerable  distance,  which  was  destitute  of  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  where  he  laboured,  in  season  and  out  of 
season,  preached  in  the  day  and  had  his  hectick  fever  by  night,  and 
that  to  such  a  degree  as  to  be  sometimes  delirious,  and  to  stand  in 
need  of  persons  to  sit  up  with  him.  Nor  did  he  thus  labour  in  vain, 
but  received,  at  this  very  time,  some  of  the  first  fruits  of  his  minis- 
try, in  several  instances  of  the  hopeful  conversion  of  sinners,  two  of 
which  he  considered  as  very  remarkable. 

In  the  spring  of  1748,  he  received  a  call  from  the  people  of  Han- 
over^ HenricOy  and  two  other  neighbouring  congregations  in  Vir- 
ginia, to  settle  among  thcro,  as  their  pastor.     This  call,  ia  the 


344  NOTES. 

month  of  April  of  that  year,  he  accepted,  and  immediately  set  out 
for  the  place  of  his  future  pastoral  labours.  At  this  time  he  had 
begun  slowly  to  recover,  from  what  he  calls  his  "  melancholy  and 
consumptive  languishments  ;"  though  he  adds,  *'  I  then  looked  upon 
it  only  as  tlie  intermission  of  a  disorder  that  would  finally  prove 
mortal.  But  upon  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  from  Hanover,  I  put 
my  life  in  my  hand,  and  determined  to  accept  of  their  call,  hoping  I 
might  live  to  prepare  the  way  for  some  more  useful  successor  ;  and 
willing  to  expire  under  the  fatigues  of  duty,  rather  than  in  volunta- 
ry  negligence.'* 

In  the  colony  of  Virginia,  at  this  time,  Episcopacy,  according  to 
the  order  of  the  church  of  England,  was  the  religion  established  and 
supported  by  law  ;  and  "  the  act  of  uniformity"  was  enforced  with 
even  greater  rigour  than  in  the  mother  country.  The  "  act  of  tole- 
ration" had  been  passed  in  England,  expressly  for  the  relief  of 
protestant  dissenters  ;  but  it  was  made  the  subject  of  earnest  con- 
troversy in  Virginia,  whether  this  latter  act  was  intended  to  have 
any  reference  to  the  colonies.  Mr.  Davies  maintained  that  it  was 
as  applicable  to  the  colonies  as  to  the  mother  country  ;  and  that  if 
the  act  of  toleration  was  not  law  in  Virginia,  the  act  of  uniformity 
was  equally  destitute  of  legal  authority.  On  this  point  he  had  a 
long  controversy  with  the  king's  attorney  gene^jgl,  Peyton  Randolph, 
afterwards  the  President  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  and  with 
the  general  court  of  the  colony.  On  one  occasion  he  appeared 
personally  before  the  court,  and  replied  in  such  a  manner  to  the 
Attorney  General,  as  to  impress  even  his  enemies  with  the  highest 
respect  for  his  knowledge,  address,  and  eloquence.  He  maintained 
his  cause  inflexibly,  till,  when  he  went  to  England,  to  solicit  bene- 
factions for  the  college,  he  brought  the  subject  before  the  king  and. 
council ;  and  received  from  the  Attorney  General,  Sir  Dudley  Rider, 
a  declaration,  unda^authority,  that  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  tole- 
ration did  extend  to  the  colony  of  Virginia. 

Before  this  subject,  however,  had  produced  the  excitement  whick 
afterwards  took  place,  Mr.  Davies,  assuming  what  we  have  seen 
that  he  afterwards  triumphantly  maintained,  that  the  act  of  tolera- 
tion permitted  dissenting  ministers,  going  into  Virginia,  to  qualify 
themselves  according  to  the  provisions  of  that  act,  was  careful,  on 
his  first  visit,  to  qualify  himself  accordingly.  *'  Upon  my  arrival — 
he  says — I  petitioned  the  general  court  to  grant  me  a  license  to  offi- 
ciate in  and  about  Hanover,  at  four  meeting  houses,  which,  after  some 
delay,  was  granted,  upon  aiy  qualifying  myself  according  to  the  act 
of  toleration." 


NOTES.  345 

Upon  his  settlement  in  Virginia,  in  the  spring  of  1748,  his  stated 
preaching,  for  several  months,  was  confined  to  the  four  places  of 
worship,  for  which  he  hiul  obtained  license  the  preceeding  year. 
The  following  extract  from  one  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  Bellamy,  ta- 
ken in  connection  with  the  extracts  already  made,  will  give  the  best 
account  of  his  labours  and  success  in  the  ministry,  from  the  time  of 
his  settlement,  till  the  year  1751.  *' In  October  1748,  besides  the 
four  meeting  houses  already  mentioned,  the  people  petitioned  for 
the  licensing  of  three  more,  which,  with  great  difficulty,  was  obtain- 
ed. Among  these  seven,  I  have  hitherto  divided  my  time.  Three 
of  them  lie  in  Hanover  County,  the  other  four  in  the  counties  of 
Henrico,  Caroline,  Louisa,  and  Goochland.  The  nearest  are  twelve 
or  fifteen  miles  distant  from  each  other,  and  the  extremes  about 
forty.  My  congregation  is  extremely  dispersed  ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  number  of  the  meeting-houses,  some  live  twenty,  some  thir- 
ty, and  a  few  forty  miles  from  the  nearest.  Were  they  all  com- 
pactly situated  in  one  county,  they  would  be  bufBcient  to  form 
three  distinct  congregations — Many  of  the  church  people  also  at- 
tend, when  there  is  sermon  at  any  of  these  houses.  This  I  looked 
upon,  at  first,  as  mere  curiosity  after  novelty  ;  but  as  it  continues, 
and  in  some  places  seems  to  increase,  I  cannot  but  look  upon  it  as  a 
happy  token  of  thefll^being  at  length  thoroughly  engaged.  And  I 
have  the  greater  reason  to  hope  so  now,  as  experience  has  confirmed 
my  former  hopes  ;  fifty  or  sixty  families  having  thus  been  happily  en- 
tangled in  the  net  of  the  gospel  by  their  own  curiosity,  or  some  such 
motive.  There  are  about  three  hundred  communicants  in  my  con- 
gregation, of  whom  tlie  greatest  number  are,  in  the  judgment  of 
rational  charity,  real  christians.  Besides  some,  who,  through  exces 
sive  scrupulousness,  do  not  seek  admission  to  the  Lord's  table. 
There  is  also  a  number  of  Negroes.  Sometimes  I  see  an  hundred 
and  more  among  my  hearers.  I  have  baptized  about  forty  of  them, 
within  these  three  years,  upon  such  a  profession  of  faith  as  I  then 
judged  credible.  Some  of  them,  I  fear,  have  apostatized  ;  but  oth- 
ers, I  trust,  will  persevere  to  the  end.  I  have  had  as  satisfying 
evidence  of  the  sincere  piety  of  several  of  them,  as  ever  I  had  from 
any  person  in  my  life,  and  their  artless  simplicity,  their  passionate 
aspirations  after  Christ,  their  incessant  endeavours  to  know  and  do 
the  will  of  God,  have  charmed  me.  But  alas  !  while  my  charge  is 
so  extensive,  I  cannot  take  sufficient  pains  with  them  for  their  in- 
struction, which  o>.en  oppresses  my  heart.  There  have  been  in- 
stances of  unhapi)y  apostacy  among  us  ;  but  blessed  be  God,  not 
many  in  proportion  to  the  number  brought  under  concern.  At 
present  there  arc  a  few  under  promising  impressions ;    but,  in  gen- 

Y3 


346  NOTES. 

cral,  security  prevails.      Oh  !  for  a  little  re\iving  in  our  bondage  !— 
I  might  have  given  you  a  particular  account  of  the  conversion  of 
some  persons  here,  as  indeed  there  are  some  uncommon  instances  of 
it,  but  I  shall  only  observe  in  general,  that  abstracting  from  particu- 
lar circumstances,  the  work  of  conversion  has  been  carried  on  in 
such   steps  as  are  described  by  experimental    divines,  as  Allien, 
Shepherd,  Stoddard,  Flavel,  &c.     And  nothing  confirms  me  more  in 
the  truth  of  their  opinions  concerning  experimental  piety,  than  this 
agi'eement  and  uniformity,  as  to  the  substance,  in  the  exercises   of 
those  that  can  make  the  fairest  claim  to  saving  grace.      Were  you, 
sir,  a  narrow  bigot,  you  would,  no  doubt,  rejoice  to  hear  that  there 
are  now  some  hundreds  of  dissenters  in  a  place,  where,  a  few  years 
ago,  there  were  not  ten  ;    but  I  assure  myself  of  your  congratula- 
tions on  a  nobler  account,  because  a  considerable  number  of  perish- 
ing sinners  are  gained  to  the  blessed  Redeemer,  with  whom,  though 
you  never  see  them  here,  you  may  spend  a  blissful  eternity. — After 
all,  poor  Virginia  demnnda  youi*  compassion,  for  religion  at  present 
is  but  like  the  cloud  which  Elijah's  servant  saw.  O  tliat  it  may  spread 
and  cover  the  land." 

The  home  of  Mr.  Davies  was  in  the  county  of  Hanover,  about 
twelve  miles  from  Richmond  ;  but  his  occasional  labours  were  ex- 
tended through  a  considerable  part  of  the  colqpy  ;  and  he  acquired 
an  influence,  greater  probably,  than  any  other  preacher  of  the  gos- 
pel in  Virginia  ever  possessed.  It  was  the  influence  of  fervent 
piety  and  zeal,  directed  by  a  mind  of  uncommon  compass  and  force. 
He  took  no  little  pains  to  instruct  the  negroes,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  them  were  seals  of  his  ministry.  Till  this  day,  many  of 
the  descendants  of  his  negro  converts,  manifest  the  happy  effects  of 
the  pious  instructions  and  example  of  their  parents. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  in  1753,  Mr.  Davies  accompanied 
the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent  of  Philadelphia,  on  a  mission  to  Great 
Britain,  to  solicit  donations  for  the  college.      The  Synod  of  Nev/-  - 
York,  which  always  regarded  the  college  as  its  own  offspring,  and^ 
■watched  over  it  with  parental  care,  provided  for  the  supply  of  the 
pulpit  of  Mr.  Davies,  during  his  mission.     The  expense  of  this  sup- 
ply was  borne  by  the  tnistees,  and  the  stated  salary  which  he  receiv- 
ed from  his  people,  was  continued  to  his  family.     The  expenses  of 
both  the  missionaries  were  defrayed  by  the  board,  but  they  received 
no  other  remuneration. 

Mr.  Davies  left  his  home  on  September  3d,  1753,  and  came  on  to 
make  his  arrangements,  preparatory  to  his  voyage.  He  attended 
the  commencement  at  Newark,  Avhere  he  delivered  a  Thesis — Per- 
^sonaks  Distiiictioncs  in  Trinitate  sunt  ce^fr«a?— and  vindicated  it,  in 


NOTES.  34r 

a  public  dispute,  against  three  opponents  ;  and  aftertvards  received 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts.  He  then  visited  Mr.  Brainerd,  the 
Indian  missionarv,  and  "  took  a  view  of  the  Indian  town  ;  and  was 
pleased  at  the  affection  of  the  poor  savages  to  their  minister,  and  his 
condescention  to  them.'*  A  few  days  after  this,  the  Synod  of 
New-York,  convened  in  Philadelphia.  Here  Mr.  Davics 
met  with  his  brethren,  and  appears  fi-om  his  journal  to  have 
enjoyed  their  society  witli  the  most  exquisite  relish.  His  principal 
business,  however,  was  to  obtain  supplies  for  his  people,  during  his 
expected  absence.  In  tliis  he  was  successful  and  says — "  I  hope 
this  will  turn  to  the  benefit  of  my  dear  congregation.  O  that 
God  may  go  with  his  messengers  thither."  He  visited  his  early  and 
very  dear  friend  Mr.  Rodgers,  afterwards  the  Rev.  Doctor  Rodgers 
of  New-York,  at  S;iint  Georges,  in  New-Castlc,  Delaware  ;  heard 
him  preacli  and  joined  with  him  in  receiving  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  supper.  On  Saturday,  November  17th,  1753,  he  went  on 
board  a  vessel  bound  for  London,  with  his  friend  Mr.  Tennent,  and 
on  the  next  day  they  set  sail.  During  a  great  part  of  his  voyage  he 
was  much  affected  with  sea-sickness.  On  the  lyth  of  November  he 
says  in  his  journal,  "  We  are  now  out  of  sight  of  land— C<f/wm  un- 
dique^  undique  fiontus.  It  would  be  particularly  pleasing  to  me  to 
see  the  wonders  of  the  majestick  ocean  ;  but  I  have  been  confined  to 
bed  most  of  the  day,  and  am  so  much  out  of  my  element,  that  I  am 
neither  fit  for  conversation  nor  curious  observation — However,  I 
feel  calm  within,  and  resigned  to  the  divine  will — O  Lord  bless  my 
dear  family." 

He  arrived  in  London  on  the  25th  of  December,  and  with  his  asso- 
ciate was  very  kindly  received.  He  prosecuted  the  object  of  his 
mission  with  great  zeal  and  diligence,  and  with  a  success  that 
surprised  himself.  His  social  intercourse  was  necessarily, 
for  the  most  part,  among  the  dissenters.  He  became  acquainted 
with  all  their  leading  men  of  the  clergy,  whether  Presbyterians, 
Baptists,  or  Independents.  He  preached  frequently  and  with  great 
acceptance  and  applause  ;  and  as  appeai-s  from  a  statement  which 
he  afterwards  made  to  his  people,  when  called  to  the  Presidency  of 
the  college,  was  invited  to  settle  in  the  ministry  in  Britain.  The 
limits  of  this  memoir  do  not  permit  much  detail ;  but  tlie  following 
extract  from  his  diary,  for  Tuesday,  March  19th,  1754,  will  serve  to 
show  the  favourable  maimer  in  which  his  publick  ministrations  were 
received,  and  the  humilit>'  with  which  he  bore  his  po])ularity. — 
"Went  to  the  Amsterdam  Coffee-House,  among  the  Baptist  and  In- 
dependent ministers,  where  I  enjoy  most  satisfaction.  Received  the 
thanks  of  the  governors  of  the  churity  school  in  Bartholomew  close. 


348  NOTES. 

for  my  sermoii  there,  which  were  presented  to  me  in  a  very  res- 
pectful manner,  by  Dr.  Guyse,  as  their  deputy — Though  it  be  hard 
to  repress  the  workings  of  vanity,  even  in  a  creature  as  unworthy  as 
I,  under  so  much  applause  ;  yet  I  think  my  heart  rises  in  sincere 
gratitude  to  God,  for  advancing  me  from  a  mean  family  and  utter 
obscurity,  into  some  importance  in  the  world,  and  giving  me  so  many 
advantages  of  publick  usefulness — Indeed  I  think  there  is  hardly  a 
greater  instance  of  this  in  the  present  age.  Alas  !  that  I  do  not  bet- 
ter improve  my  opportunities."  From  England  he  went  to  Scot- 
land, where  he  was  also  v*^ell  received,  and  met  with  considerable 
success  in  the  business  of  his  mission. 

The  precise  time  of  his  return  to  America  is  not  known.  Early 
in  the  year  1735,  he  was  among  his  people  in  Hanover,  labouring 
"with  his  arrnstomed  Tieal  and  fidelity.  But  he  did  not  content  him- 
self merely  with  the  discharge  of  pastoral  duties.  The  country  was 
alarmed  and  agitated,  to  the  highest  degree,  by  a  French  and  Indian 
war.  There  was  even  much  talk  of  abandoning  a  part  of  the  colony 
of  Virginia  to  the  enemy.  On  the  10th  of  July,  1755,  General  Brad- 
dock  sustained  his  memorable  defeat,  and  the  remnant  of  his  army 
"Was  saved  by  the  courage  and  skill  of  Colonel  Washington,  then 
only  twenty-three  years  old.  On  the  20th  of  this  month,  Mr.  Da- 
vies  preached  a  sermon  *'  On  the  defeat  of  General  Braddock  going 
to  Fort  Du  Quesne."  In  this  sermon  he  calls  on  all  his  hearers,  in 
the  most  empassioned  and  animating  strains,  to  show  "  themselves 
men,  Britons  and  christians,  and  to  make  a  noble  stand  for  the  bless- 
ings they  enjoyed."  It  was  feared  that  the  negroes  would  rise  up 
and  join  the  Indians  and  French.  His  influence  among  the  blacks, 
•was  greater  perhaps,  than  that  of  any  other  man  ;  and  he  used  it  all 
to  persuade  and  deter  them  from  any  thoughts  of  joining  the  enemy. 
In  August  of  the  same  year,  he  delivered  a  sermon,  in  Hanover,  to 
Captain  Overton's  company  of  Independent  volunteers,  under  the 
title  of  "  Religion  and  Patriotism  the  constituents  of  a  good  soldier." 
It  was  in  a  note  to  this  sermon,  after  expressing  a  hope  that  "  God 
had  been  pleased  to  diffuse  some  sparks  of  martial  fire  through  our 
country,"  and  appealing  to  the  company  of  volunteers  then  addres- 
sed, as  a  proof  of  the  fact,  that  he  expressed  the  hope,  or  the  prog- 
nostick,  which  has  so  often  since  been  noticed,  in  regard  to  him  who 
became  "  lirst  in  war ;  first  in  peace  ;  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen."  "As  a  remarkable  instance  of  this  (said  Mr  Davies) 
I  may  point  out  to  the  publick  that  heroick  youth.  Colonel  Wash- 
ington, whom  I  cannot  but  hope  Providence  has  hitherto  preserved, 
in  so  signal  a  manner,  for  so7ne  imfiortant  service  to  his  country" 
On  another  occasion  he  preached  a  sermon  *'  to  the  militia  of  Haff- 


NOTES.  349 

over  county  in  Virginia,  at  a  general  muster,  May  8th,  1759,  with 
a  view  to  raise  a  company  for  Captain  Samuel  Meredith."  At  the 
close  of  this  discourse  a  company  was  made  up  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  many  more  offered  their  names  than  the  Caj)tain  was  authoriz- 
ed by  law  to  command.  The  preacher  repaired  from  the  muster 
ground  to  the  tavern,  to  order  his  horse  ;  and  the  whole  regiment 
followed  him,  and  pressed  round  him  to  catch  every  word  that  dropt 
from  his  lips.  On  observing  their  desire,  he  stood  in  the  tavern 
porch,  and  again  addressed  them,  till  he  was  exhausted  with  speak- 
ing. 

The  celebrated  Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia,  is  known  to  have  spo- 
ken in  terms  of  enthusiasm  of  Mr.  Uavics.  And  as  that  great  states- 
man and  powerful  orator  lived,  from  his  eleventh  to  his  twentv- 
second  year,  in  the  neighbourhood  wlicre  the  patriotick  sermons  of 
Mr.  Davies  were  delivered,  and  which  produced  effects  as  powerful 
as  those  ascribed  to  the  orations  of  Demosthenes  himself,  it  has 
been  supposed,  with  much  probability,  that  it  was  Mr.  Davies  who 
first  kindled  the  fire  and  afforded  the  model  of  Henry's  elocu- 
tion. 

But  Mr.  Davies  never  permitted  patriotism  or  politicks  to  inter- 
fere with  his  duties,  or  tarnish  his  character,  as  a  minister  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  With  him  every  thing  was  subordinate  to  relig- 
ion ;  or  rather  he  did  all  that  he  did  as  a  part  of  his  religious  duty. 
As  such  he  regarded  it,  to  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  to  preserve 
his  country  from  the  savage  ferocity  of  the  Indians,  and  the  tyranny 
and  popery  of  the  French.  But  in  the  mean  time,  he  preached  the 
gospel  with  unwearied  assiduity  ;  and  laboured  incessantly  among 
the  negroes,  as  well  as  the  white  population,  in  winning  souls  to  the 
Saviour,  and  in  extending  and  establishing  the  institutions  of  re- 
ligion. He  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  first  Presbytery 
in  the  State  of  Virginia.  During  his  mission  to  England,  the 
Rev.  John  Todd,  his  friend  and  class-mate,  supplied  his  congrega- 
tions, as  a  stated  preacher.  Sliortly  after  the  return  of  Mr.  Davies, 
the  Presbytery  of  Hanover  was  erected.  The  act  of  the  Synod  of 
New-York  for  this  purpose,  bears  date  September  3d,  1755.  The 
nmiisters  composing  the  body,  and  named  in  the  minutes  of  Synod, 
are  Samuel  Davies,  Jolm  Todd,  Alexander  Craighead,  Robert  Hen- 
ry, John  Wright,  and  John  Brown.  Mr.  Davies  was  appointed  to 
open  the  Presbytery,  which  was  directed  to  meet  in  Hanover,  on  the 
3d  of  December  in  that  year. 

The  limits  of  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  originally  comprehended 
the  whole  of  Virginia,  and  a  considerable  part,  if  not  tlie  wliole,  of 
Nortli-Carolina.      Through  this  extensive  region,  there  were  scut- 


350  NOTES. 

tered  numerous  settlements  of  protestant  dissenters,  besides  many 
■who  had  originally  belonged  to  the  established  church,  but  had  cho- 
sen to  leave  it  and  to  join  the  dissenters.  Of  this  Avhole  dissenting  in- 
terest, Mr.  Davies  was  the  animating  soul.  He  made  his  influence 
to  be  felt  every  where  ;  he  transfused  his  own  spirit  into  the  bosoms 
of  his  associates,  and  roused  them  by  the  force  of  his  example.  His 
popularity  in  Virginia  was  almost  unbounded  ;  so  that  he  was  invit- 
ed and  urged  to  preach,  in  almost  all  the  settled  portions  of  the 
colony.  The  Presbytery  to  which  he  belonged,  willing  and  desirous 
to  gratify  the  people  as  far  as  possible,  directed  him  to  supply  the 
vacancies,  with  a  frequency  which  at  last  became  offensive  to  his 
own  immediate  charge.  They  warmly  remonstrated  with  the 
Presbytery  against  being  deprived  of  so  much  of  their  pastor's 
time  and  labours,  unless,  in  his  absence,  his  congregation  should  be 
provided  with  some  one  to  supply  his  place.  They  obtained  some 
relief  of  their  grievance  ;  yet  not  such  as  to  prevent  an  appeal  to 
the  Synod  on  the  subject  ;  the  issue  of  which  is  not  known.  To  Mr. 
Davies  himself,  however,  no  blame  was  attached  by  any  party. 
He  appeared  willing  to  spend  and  be  spent,  in  any  service  to  which 
his  duty  called  him. 

In  this  manner  was  he  situated  and  employed,  when  he  was  called 
to  the  Presidency  of  the  college.  With  v/hat  reluctance  those  who 
were  enjoying  his  ministrations  in  the  wide  sphere  which  he  filled, 
and  by  whom  he  was  so  beloved  and  admired,  "  that  if  it  had  been 
possible,  they  would  have  plucked  out  their  own  eyes,  and  have 
given  them  to  him," — with  what  reluctance  they  would  be  finally 
separated  from  him  as  their  pastor,  teacher,  counsellor  and  friend, 
may  better  be  conceived  than  described.  His  attachment  to  them, 
likewise,  wis  -:ot  less  strong  and  ardent,  than  theirs  to  him.  But  he 
considered  nimself,  as  every  minister  of  the  gospet  ought  to  consider 
himself,  a  devoted  inan — bound  to  serve  iiis  Lord  and  Master  in 
"whatever  place,  and  in  whatever  manner  that  Lord  and  Master  might 
please  to  appoint.  After  once  and  again  refusing  the  call  of  the 
college,  after  deliberating  on  it  maturely,  and  after  it  was  enforced 
by  the  opinion  and  advice  of  his  brethren,  he  obeyed.  In  his 
farewell  address  to  his  people,  which  is  highly  pathetick  and 
tender,  he  explained  to  them  the  reasons  and  motives  by  which  he 
had  been  influenced  and  governed,  in  his  determination  to  leave 
them.  He  appears  to  have  satisfied  them  that  he  acted  agreeably 
to  his  own  views  of  duty,  as  their  affection  for  him  was  never  with- 
drawn or  diminished  ;  but  if  the  decision  had  been  left  to  them- 
selves, it  would  probably  have  been  different  from  that  which, 
under  the  sanction  of  the  Synod,  was  reluctantly  formed  by  himself. 


NOTES.  S51 

The  services  which  he  rendered  in  his  official  capacity,  as  Presi- 
dent of  the  college,  have  already  been  stated.  His  popularity  as  a 
preacher,  was  equally  great,  Avhercver  he  went,  or  amons;  whomso- 
ever employed  ;  in  Britain  and  in  America,  in  the  mountains  and 
vales  of  Virginia  and  in  the  chapel  of  Nassau-Hall,  among  the  ne- 
groes of  the  Southern  colonics,  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  and  the 
students  and  graduates  of  the  college.  His  were  those  powers  of  elo- 
quence, connected  with  that  manifest  ardent  desire  to  do  good  to  the 
«ouls  of  men,  whichfindtheir  way  to  every  heart  which  prejudice  has 
not  closed,  and  v*hich  accommodate  themselves  to  every  gradation  of 
intellect,  or  rank  in  society.  The  writer  has  been  informed,  by 
one  of  his  constant  hearers  at  Princeton,  that  whenever  he  invited  a 
brother  clergyman  to  perform  an  occasional  service,  it  was  scarcely 
possible  to  prevent  the  manifestation  of  tlie  disappointment  and  re- 
gret which  were  universally  felt ;  but  that  every  indication  of  these 
feelings  which  was  made  known  to  him,  he  repressed  with  a  decision 
and  severity,  which  he  discovered  on  scarcely  any  other  occasion. 

His  death  has  been  attributed  to  his  being  unskilfully  bled.  It 
was  more  probably  precipitated  by  his  unremitting  application  to 
study,  and  to  the  duties  of  his  office.  His  previous  situation  had  af- 
forded little  leisure,  and  comparatively  few  means,  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  general  science.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  even  his 
friends  should  have  had  some  doubts  of  his  complete  preparation,  to 
fill  and  adorn  the  new  sphere  in  which  he  was  called  to  move.  To 
qualify  himself  for  this,  his  application  to  study  was  intense  and  un- 
remitted. He  rose  by  break  of  day,  and  seldom  retired  to  rest  till 
midnight.  The  habit  of  his  body  being  plethorick,  his  health  had, 
for  some  years,  greatly  depended  on  the  exercise  of  riding,  to 
which  he  was,  from  necessity,  much  habituated  in  Virginia.  This 
salutary  exercise  had,  from  the  time  he  took  charge  of  the  college, 
been  almost  entirely  relinquished.  Toward  the  close  of  January, 
1761,  he  was  seized  with  a  bad  cold,  for  which  he  was  bled.  The 
same  day  he  transcribed  for  the  press,  his  sermon  on  the  death  of 
king  George  the  second.  The  day  following,  he  preached  twice  iu 
the  college  chapel.  The  arm  in  which  he  had  been  bled — surely 
fi*om  a  cause  sufficiently  obvious — became  much  inflamed,  and  his 
febrile  disposition  was  much  increased.  On  the  morning  of  the  suc- 
ceeding Monday,  he  was  seized,  while  at  breakfast,  with  violent 
chills,  succeeded  by  an  inflammatory  fever,  which  in  ten  days 
terminated  his  life. 

A  few  days  before  the  beginning  of  the  year  in  which  Mr.  Davies 
died,  an  intimate  friend  told  him  that  a  sermon  would  be  expected 
from  him  on  new-year's  day  ;  add'mg,  among  other  things,  that  Pre- 


S52  NOTES. 

sident  Bun*,  on  the  first  day  of  the  year  in  which  he  died,  preached 
a  sermon  on  Jer.  XXVIII.  16.  '*  Thus  saith  the  Lord^  This  year 
thou  shalt  die  ;"*  and  that  after  his  death  the  people  remarked  that 
it  was  premonitory.  Mr,  Davies  replied,  that  "  although  it  ought 
not  to  be  viewed  in  that  light,  yet  it  was  very  remarkable."  When 
new-year's  day  came,  he  preached,  and  to  the  surprise  of  the  con- 
gregation took  the  same  text.  When  seized  by  a  fever,  about  three 
weeks  afterwards,  he  adverted  to  the  circumstance,  and  remarked 
that  he  had  been  undesignedly  led  to  preach,  as  it  were,  his  own  fu- 
neral sermon. 

The  violence  of  his  disease  deprived  him  of  the  exercise  of  his 
reason,  through  the  most  of  his  sickness.  Had  it  been  otherwise, 
his  friends  and  the  publick  would,  in  all  probability,  have  been  gra- 
tified with  an  additional  evidence  of  the  transcendent  excellence  of 
the  Christian  religion,  in  supporting  the  soul  in  the  near  prospect  of 
death  and  eternity.  But  he  had  preached  still  more  emphatically 
by  his  life  ;  and  even  in  his  delirium  he  manifested  what  were  the 
objects  which  chiefly  occupied  his  mind.  His  faultering  tongue  was 
continually  uttering  some  expedient,  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the 
church  of  Christ  and  the  good  of  mankind. 

The  death  of  President  Davies  was  no  ordinary  instance  of  mor- 
tality. It  was  generally  and  justly  lamented,  as  causing  a  loss, 
almost  irreparable,  not  only  to  a  distressed  family,  and  a  bereaved 
college,  but  to  the  christian  ministry,  the  church,  the  republick  of 
letters,  the  community  at  large  ;  in  a  word,  to  all  the  most  valuable 
interests  of  mankind.  It  was,  therefore,  to  be  expected  that  it 
would,  as  it  did,  attract  much  publick  notice.  An  affectionate  tribute 
of  respect  was  paid  to  his  memory,  talents  and  virtues,  by  Dr.  Fin- 
ley,  his  successor ;  in  a  sermon  preached  on  the  occasion,  from  Rom. 
XIV.  7,  8.  and  printed  at  the  request  and  expense  of  the  trustees  of 
the  college.  The  Rev.  David  Bostwick,  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
congregation  in  New- York,  the  dear  and  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Da- 
vies, had  been  entrusted  by  him  with  the  printing  of  the  sermon  on 
the  death  of  King  George  the  second;  the  preparation,  preaching 
and  transcription  of  which  had  probably  hastened  the  death  of  its 
author — Mr.  Bostwick  accompanied  the  publication  of  the  sermon 
with  a  preface,  in  which  the  talents,  piety  and  usefulness  of  Mr.  Da- 
vies, were  exhibited,  and  eulogized  with  great  warmth.     Dr.  Gib- 


*  Doctor  Withorspoon  was  in  the  pi*j\ctlce  of  preaching  on  Xew-Year's  day  :  And 
the  writer  rcrnejnbers  to  have  heard  him  tell,  that  it  had  b(;en  remarked  to  him 
liiat  he  avoided  lids  text  ;  and  tiiat  his  reply  was,  that  he  avoided  it,  not  because  he 
feared  that  preaching  on  it  would  prove  the  i)recursor  of  his  tlealh,  but  because  he 
considered  it,  iti  its  connexion,  as  not  afiorUing  a  fit  subject  for  the  occasion. 


NOTES.  35r. 

bona,  of  London,  to  whom  his  manuscript  sermons  were  entrusted 
for  publication,  and  who  had  been  for  several  years  his  correspon- 
dent, preached  a  funeral  sermon,  which  he  i)ublishcd  with  that  of 
Dr.  Finlcy,  in  the  beginning  of  the  first  vohinic  of  tlie  sermons,  of  his 
deceased  friend.  Nor  has  the  lively  recollection  of  his  worth  yet  be* 
come  extinct,  especially  in  Virginia.  Dr.  Rice,  the  editor  of  "  Th« 
Virginia  Evangelical  and  Literary  Magazine,"  has  lately  published 
"  Memoirs  of  Mr.  Davics,"  from  which  the  present  writer  has  bor- 
rowed a  large  part  of  the  foregoing  statement ;  and  to  those  memoirs 
he  with  pleasure  refers  his  readers,  for  the  fullest  and  best  account 
of  this  excellent  man  which  he  has  any  where  found. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  tliat  a  complete  edition  of  the  printed  works  of 
President  Davies,  has  not  yet  been  published.  Dr.  Rice  notices  one  or 
two  important  omissions  ;  and  to  these  should  be  added  a  very  elo- 
quent and  interesting  "  Valedictory  address  to  the  senior  class  ;  de- 
livered in  Nassau-Hall,  September  21st,  1760,  the  Sunday  before  the 
commencement ;"  which  the  writer  has  never  seen,  but  in  the  pam- 
phlet form  in  which  it  was  first  printed. 

The  collection  of  sermons,  in  three  volumes  octavo,  published  by 
Doctor  Gibbons,  has  passed  through  very  numerous  editions,  both 
in  Britain  and  in  this  country.  The  edition  possessed  by  the  writer 
is  the  ninth  ;  and  it  was  published  thirty  years  ago.  Probably,  in- 
deed, there  are  no  sermons  in  the  English  language  which  have  been 
more  read,  or  for  which  there  has  been  so  steady  and  unceasing  a 
demand,  for  more  than  half  a  century  past.  Yet  these  sermons  were 
almost  wholly  posthumous  in  their  publication.  They  certainly  are 
not  distinguished  by  that  minute  accuracy  of  language,  or  those  terse 
periods,  which  many  later  compositions  of  the  same  kind  possess. 
Nor  can  they,  in  all  their  parts,  be  vindicated  from  the  charge  of 
something  that  appears  loose,  tumid  and  declamatory.  The  general 
run  of  the  sentences,  however,  is  harmonious :  and  they  every  where 
contain  so  much  just  thinking,  such  powerful  reasoning,  such  pun- 
gent addresses  to  the  conscience  and  the  heart,  with  such  an  unction 
of  piety  and  such  a  popularity  of  manner,  as  may  well  account  for 
the  favourable  reception  they  have  met  with.  The  reader  soon 
ceases  to  attend  to  any  thing  but  the  subject  discussed,  and  is  carried 
delightfully  along,  by  the  powerful  charm  of  genius  and  piety  in  hap- 
py union. 

President  Davies  was  not  more  than  fourteen  years  in  publick  life  ; 
for  he  probably  began  to  preach  in  his  twenty-third  year,  and  died  a 
little  after  he  had  completed  his  thirty-sixth.  And  when  it  is  con- 
sidered how  imperfect  was  his  early  education,  how  numerous  were 
the  difficulties  with  which  he  always  had  to  contend,  and  yet  to 

Z2 


S54  NOTES. 

what  eminence  he  rose,  and  what  extensive  and  lasting  good  he 
effected,  where  shall   we  find  an  individual  whose  talents,  or  whose 
holy  zeal  and  fidelity,  we  shall  have  greater  reason  to  admire  ?  That 
he  possessed  the  advantage  of  superior  genius  there  can  be  no  ques- 
tion.    But  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  he  was  as  much  distinguished 
by  laborious  and  incessant  application  to  study,  as  by  the  facility 
with  which  he  made  his  attainments.     He  dreaded  to  preach,  if  he 
could  avoid  it,  without  careful  preparation.     His  intimate  friend,  Dr. 
Rodgers,  told  the  writer,  that  when  pressed  to  speak  extemporane- 
ously, he  sometimes  replied — "  It  is  a  dreadful  thing  to  talk  nonsense 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord."     Nor  was  he  one  of  those  who  boasted 
how  easily  and  rapidly  his  sermons  were  composed.     He  is  known 
to  have   declared,  that  "  every   discourse  of  his,  which  he  thought 
worthy  of  the  name  of  a  sermon,  cost  him  four  days  hard  study,  in 
the  preparation."    It  was  by  this  combination  of  talent  and  diligence, 
that  he  became,  probably,  the  most  eloquent  and  accomplished  pulpit 
orator  that  our  country  has  ever  produced;  and  what  was  infinitely 
more  important  and  desirable,  v>^as  more  successful  in  winning  souls 
to  Christ,  than  almost  any  other  individual  of  the  day  in  which  he 
lived  : — for  his  sermons  have  been  benefiting  thousands,  and  tens  of 
thousands,   since  his  death ;  and  are  likely  to  do   so,  while  the  lan- 
guage in  which  they  are  written   shall  be  in  use.     Let  those  who 
aspire  to  extensive  usefulness,  take  the  course  which  he  took,  if  they 
hope  to  arrive  at  the  goal  which  he  reached. 

Of  the  family  left  by  President  Davies,  the  writer  is  able  to  give 
but  little  information.  The  funeral  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  Finley, 
is  dedicated  *'  To  Mrs.  Martha  Davies  the  mother,  and  Mrs.  Jean 
Davies,  the  widow  of  the  late  Rev.  President  Davies."  Of  his  wi- 
dow, it  is  only  known  that  she  returned  to  her  friends  in  Virginia, 
and  remained  there  till  her  death.  His  eldest  son.  Col.  William  Da- 
vies, was  educated  at  Nassau-Hall,  and  graduated  in  1765.  He 
studied  the  law,  and  settled  at  Norfolk,  in  Virginia.  In  the  revolu- 
tionary war  he  obtained  the  rank  of  a  Colonel,  in  the  American  ar- 
my ;  was  an  officer  of  distinguished  merit,  and  possessed,  in  an  emi- 
nent degree,  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
the  illustrious  Washington.  He  was  well  known  to  the  writer,  and 
was  unquestionably  a  man  of  powerful  mind,  highly  cultivated  and 
enriched  by  various  knowledge.  He  died  in  Virginia,  a  few  years 
since,  and  is  believed  to  have  left  one  daughter,  as  his  only  issue. 
John  Rodgers  Davies,  was  also  educated  at  Nassau-Hall,  and  gradu- 
ated in  1769.  He  likewise  studied  the  law,  and  is  supposed  to  be  still 
living  in  Virginia,  in  the  county  of  Sussex.  Samuel  Davies,  the 
third  son,  was  settled  in  Petersburgh,  and  died  there,  several  years 


NOTES.  355 

since.  An  only  daughter  of  President  Davies,  never  married,  is  sup- 
posed to  be  still  living.  It  is  also  believed  that  two  or  three  of  his 
grand  children,  beside  the  daughter  of  his  eldest  son,  are  still  in  life. 
His  mother,  Mrs.  Martha  Davies,  made  a  part  of  the  President*;* 
family,  at  the  time  of  his  death.  The  writer  has  been  well  informed, 
that  when  the  corpse  of  her  son  was  laid  in  the  coffin,  she  stood  over 
it,  in  the  presence  of  a  number  of  friends  for  some  minutes,  viewing 
it  attentively,  and  tlien  said — "There  is  the  son  of  my  prayers  and 
my  hopes — my  only  son — my  only  earthly  support.  But  there  is  the 
will  of  God,  and  I  am  satisfted!'*  This  eminent  saint  was  received 
into  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  of  New-York,  and  by  him 
■was  treated  with  the  utmost  kindness  and  veneration,  till  the  time  of 
her  death. 

The  monumental  inscription,  already  referred  to,  is  si&  follows— 

Sub  Hoc  Marmore  sepulchrali 

Mortales  Exuvix 

Reverendi  perquam  Viri, 

SAMUELIS  DAVIES,  A.  M. 

CoUegii  Nov-Cxsariensis  Prxsidis, 

Futuram  Domini  Adventum  prxstolantur. 

Ke  te,  Viator,  ut  pauca  de  tanto 

Tamque  dilecto  Viro  resciscas, 

Paulisper  morari  pigeat. 

Natus  est  in  Comitatu  de  Newcastle,  juxta  Delawarjt, 

HI  Novembris,  Anno  Salutis  reparatx, 

MDCCXXIV.  S.  V. 

Sacris  ibidem  initiatus,  XIX  Febiniarii, 

MDCCXLVII, 

Tutclam  pastoralem  Ecclesix 

In  Comitatu  de  Hanover,  Virginiensium,  suseepit. 

Ibi  per  XI  plus  minus  Annos, 

Ministri  evangelici  Laboribus 

Indefesse,  et  favente  Numine,  auspicate  perfunctus. 

Ad  MunusPrxsidiale  Collegii  Nov-Cxsariensis  gereudum 

Vocatus  est,  ct  inauguratus,  XXVI  Julii, 

MDCCLIX  S.  N, 

Sed,  proh  Renim  inane  !  intra  Biennium,  Febre  correptus, 

Candidam  Animam  CceIo  reddidit,  IV'  Februarii,  MDCCLXI, 

Heu  quam  exiguum  Vitx  Curriculum ! 

Corpore  fuit  eximio  ;  Gestu  liberali,  placido,  augusto. 

Ingenii  Nitore, 

Morum  Integritute,  Muuificcutia,  Facilitate, 


S56  NOTES. 

Inter  paucos  illustris. 

Rei  literarise  peritus  ;  Theologus  promptus,  perspicax, 

In  Rostris,  per  Eloquium  blandum,  mellitum, 

Vehemens  simul,  et  perstringens,  nuUi  secundus, 

Scriptor  ornatus,  sublimis,  disertus. 

Praesertim  vero  Pietate, 

Ardente  in  Deum  Zelo  et  Religione  spectandus. 

In  tanti  Viri,  majora  meriti, 

Memoriam  duraturam, 

Amici  hoc  qualecunque  monumentum. 

Honoris  ergo  et  Gratitudinis,  posuere. 

Abi^  Viator y  ei  aemulare. 

DOCTOR  FINLEY'S  ADMINISTRATION. 

From  June  \st,  1761,  to  July  19th,  1766. 

The  board  of  tinistees  did  not  meet,  after  the  death  of  President 
Davies,  in  February,  till  the  month  of  May  following — In  the  interval 
the  college  appears  to  have  remained  under  the  care  of  the  tutors ; 
who,  at  this  time,  were  eminently  qualified  for  their  station.  The  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  the  minutes  of  the  board,  and  the  remarks  con- 
nected with  them,  with  the  statement  which  will  be  found  in  the 
extracts  from  Dr.  Finley's  history,  and  the  subjoined  account  of  a  re- 
vival of  religion,  will  give  a  full  view  of  the  state  of  the  institution 
during  the  period  now  under  consideration. 

*'  At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New- Jersey,  at 
Nassau-Hall,  on  Thursday  the  20th  day  of  May,  1761 — A  quoi'um 
of  the  trustees,  not  having  convened,  express  messengers  were  des- 
patched to  several  of  the  absent  members  ;  and  on  Monday  morning 
June  1st,  1761,  being  called  over,  the  following  members  appeared, 
viz.  Messrs.  William  P.  Smith,  Samuel  Woodruff,  John  Pierson,  Gil- 
bert Tennent,  W^illiam  Tennent,  Caleb  Smith,  Jacob  Green,  John 
Brainerd,  Samuel  Finley,  Elihu  Spencer,  Charles  M 'Knight,  John 
Light,  and  Richard  Stockton. — The  clerk  certified  that  he  had  giv- 
en due  notice  of  the  present  Meeting  to  each  of  the  members. 

It  having  pleased  a  sovereign  God,  since  our  last  meeting,  to  re- 
move by  death  the  late  Reverend  and  ingenious  Mr.  Davies,  Presi- 
dent of  the  College,  the  trustees  proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  Pre- 
sident; whereupon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Finley,  of  Nottingham, 
in  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  was  unanimously  chosen  President 
of  the  College,  in  the  room  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davies ;  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Finley,  being  informed  of  the  above  election,  was  pleased  mod- 
estly to  accept  the  same— Whereupon  Mr,  Treat,  one  of  the  mejft- 


NOTES.  S57 

bcrs  of  this  board,  is  desired  to  attend  the  next  meeting  of  the  Pres- 
bytery to  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Finley  belongs,  to  request  that  he 
may  be  liberated  from  his  jjresent  pastoral  charge. 

It  is  ordered  that  Mr.  Finley's  salary,  as  President  of  the  College, 
be  the  sum  of  JE200  proc.  per  annum,  with  the  usual  privilet^es  and 
perquisites;  and  that  the  expense  of  moving  the  lUv.  Air.  Finley's 
family  to  this  place,  be  'paid  by  the  Treasurer. 

At  a  meeting  o^'  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  Ncw-Jersev,  at 
Nassau-Hall,  on  \\'ednesday  the  30th  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1761 
— The  Rev.  Mr.  Finley,  President  elect  of  this  College,  having  been 
pleased  to  accept  of  the  presidentship,  was  qualified  as  the  c)\iuter 
directs,  and  took  his  seat  accordingly. 

Voted,  That  the  Treasurer  of  the  College  pay  President  Finley, 
the  sum  of  £22  11,  it  being  the  expense  of  his  removal  to  the  Col- 
lege— Voted,  that  President  Finley's  salary  begin  from  the  third 
Wednesday  in  June  last ;  it  being  the  time  of  his  dismission  from  his 
people  at  Nottingham. 

Ordered,  That  Mr.  Stockton,  the  Clerk,  be  desired  to  return  the 
thanks  of  this  board  to  the  gentlemen  in  Philadelphia,  who  hax'e 
generously  undertaken  the  management  of  the  Lottery,  now  on  foot 
in  favour  of  the  College."  It  is  not  believed  that  there  was  anv  leg- 
islative act  of  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania,  authorizing  this  Lottery. 
The  probability  is,  that,  at  this  time,  lotteries  in  that  colony,  were 
not  forbidden  by  law ;  so  that  they  might  be  made  and  drawn  with- 
out legislative  sanction.  This  was  not  the  case  in  New-Jersey,  and 
in  some  of  the  other  colonies. 

"Ordered,  'Fhat  all  monies  arising  from  the  Lottery,  made  in 
Philadelphia,  for  the  benefit  of  the  College,  be  deposited  in  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Sergeant,  the  treasurer,  as  soon  as  possible  ;  and  that  the  mo- 
nies be  by  him  immediately  put  out  to  interest,  as  soon  as  opportuni- 
ties present — Ordered,  that  Mr.  Parker,  be  desired  to  print  the  num- 
bers of  the  prizes  in  the  Philadelphia  Lottery,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
New-Jersey  College,  in  his  Thursday  paper;  and  that  he  be  paid 
for  the  same  by  the  'Freasurer  of  the  College. 

Voted,  That  President  Finley,  be  desired  to  print  his  sermon 
preached  at  the  funeral  of  Mr.  Davies,  at  the  expense  of  the  Col- 
lege, and  that  the  copies  be  disposed  of  for  the  benefit  of  the  institu- 
tion. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New- Jersey,  at 
Nassau-Hall,  on  \\'ednesday  the  29th  day  of  September,  A.  D.  1762. 

His  Kxcellency  Josiah  Hardy,  Esq.  Go\cniour  of  this  province, 
having  been  pleased  to  attend  the  present  meeting,  was  qualified  as 
the  charter  directs,  and  took  his  seat  accordingly. 


S58  NOTES. 

Voted,  That  in  consideration  of  Mr.  Halsey's  extraordinary  ser- 
vices the  last  year,  he  be  paid  the  sum  of  fifteen  pounds ;  and  that 
fifteen  pounds  per  annum  be  added  to  his  present  salary. 

Voted,  That  the  salary  of  the  President  of  this  College,  for  the 
time  being,  be  from  henceforth  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and  fifty' 
pounds  proclamation  money  per  annum,  with  the  profits  of  the 
Grammar  School ;  and  that  he  have  the  same  privilege  of  educating 
his  sons  at  the  College  as  was,  in  such  case,  given  to  the  late  Presi- 
dent Davies  ;  and  that  the  President  be  paid  his  salary  half  yearly. 

Voted,  That  the  determination  of  the  ten  trustees,  expressed  in  a 
paper  signed  by  them,  and  dated  April  1762,  respecting  the  gift  of  a 
Lot  of  Land,  for  the  erecting  of  the  Church  now  in  building,  be  con- 
firmed.'* 

Till  this  time  there  had  been  no  house  for  publick  worship  in  the 
village  of  Princeton.  Worship  was  celebrated  in  the  college  chapel, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  village  and  vicinity  met  with  the  students,  and 
as  we  have  seen  paid  something  for  pew  rent.  The  publick  exerci- 
ses of  commencement  were  also  performed  in  the  chapel.  Better 
accommodations  for  a  numerous  assembly  vvere  much  needed,  both 
b\'  the  college  and  the  village.  At  this  tim.e  it  appears  that  a  lot  of 
land  belonging  to  the  corporation  of  the  college  was  given  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Princeton  and  its  neighbourhood,  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  church. 

"Voted,  That  Messrs  President  Finley,  Wm.Tennent,  M'Knight, 
the  Treasurer  and  the  Clerk,  or  any  three  of  them,  be  a  committee 
to  erect  a  Kitchen,  for  the  use  of  the  college,  in  such  place  and  man- 
ner as  they  think  most  convenient."  The  college  edifice  and  the 
President's  house,  were,  till  this  time,  the  only  buildings  erected  on 
the  grounds  belonging  to  the  institution.  Some  part  of  the  main  edi- 
fice had  hitherto  been  used  for  culinary  purposes.  But  a  convenient 
house  was  now  built,  at  the  east  end  of  the  principal  stnicture,  which 
was  used  as  a  Kitchen,  till  the  refectory  was  erected,  after  the  burn- 
ing of  the  main  edifice,  in  1802 — The  former  Kitchen,  somewhat  en- 
larged and  considerably  altered,  has  been  used,  both  before  and 
since,  as  a  Dwelling-house  for  the  Steward. 

*'  It  is  ordered  that  the  President  of  the  College,  Doct.  Harris  and 
the  Clerk,  be  a  committee,  to  draw  up  and  present  the  thanks  of  this 
board  to  the  several  branches  of  the  Legislature  of  this  pi'ovince,  for 
their  having  passed  a  law,  enabling  the  trustees  to  erect  a  Lottery 
for  the  benefit  of  the  College."  Till  this  time,  fourteen  years  after 
the  founding  of  the  college,  it  had  never  received  a  legislative  favour 
in  the  colony  of  New-Jersey.  We  have  seen  that  it  had  been  pa- 
tronised both  in  Connecticut  and  Pennsylvania.    Whether  this  ope- 


NOTES.  359 

rated  as  a  stimulus,  at  last,  on  the  legislature  of  the  colony  in  which 
the  college  was  situated,  or  whetlier  some  other  motive  had  hiflu- 
ence  at  this  time,  is  unknown  to  the  Avriter.  Permission  to  make  a 
Lottery  for  the  benefit  of  tlie  institution  was  now  granted.  The  sum 
to  be  raised  was  d£3000  proclamation  money.  This  sum,  however, 
we  shall  see,  was  not  fully  realized.  "  Messrs  Ezekiel  Forman,  Jon- 
athan Sergeant,  James  Hude,  jun.  Moore  Furman,  William  Thomp- 
son, Jonathan  Baldwin,  Joseph  Woodruff,  and  Robert  Ogdcn,  are  de- 
sired to  be  Managers  of  the  Lottery,  which  the  legislature  of  this 
province  have  been  pleased  to  pass  an  act  for,  and  tliat,  if  it  be  ne- 
cessary, the  President  of  the  College,  Dr.  Harris  and  the  Clerk,  be 
a  committee  to  make  any  alteration  in  the  number  or  persons  of  the 
managers  they  may  think  convenient. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  ColU-gc  of  New- Jersey,  at  Nas- 
sau-Hall, on  \\'ednesday  the  28th  day  of  September,  A.  D.  ir63— 
His  Excellency  Governor  Franklin,  haxing  been  pleased  to  attend 
this  meeting,  was  qualified  as  the  charter  directs. 

It  is  ordered  that  Mr.  William  P.  Smitli,  Mr.  Woodruff,  Dr.  Red- 
man, Mr.  Treat  and  Mr.  Brainerd,  he  a  committee,  to  settle  with 
the  congregation  of  Princeton,  the  matter  resj)ecting  the  lot  of  land, 
which  this  board  heretofore  has  ordered  to  be  conveyed  to  tlicm,  for 
the  erection  of  a  church,  and  for  a  burying  ground  ;  and  that  the 
committee  have  full  power  to  oflcr  the  congregation  such  terms  as 
they  think  proper,  in  consideration  of  their  releasing  their  claim  to 
the  lot  of  land ;  and  to  make  such  other  agreement  with  the  congi-e- 
gation,  touching  the  premises,  as  the  committee  shall  judge  proper." 
It  appears  from  this  minute,  that  the  lot  of  land,  granted  by  the  trus- 
tees to  the  congregation  of  Princeton,  for  the  erection  of  a  church, 
and  for  a  burial  ground,  was  at  this  time  expected  to  revert  to  the 
college.  This,  however,  did  not  take  place.  The  transactions  be- 
tween the  trustees  of  the  college  and  the  congregation  of  Princeton, 
relative  to  this  concern,  were  numerous  and  of  long  continuance.  A 
particular  detail  of  them  will  not  be  given.  The  result  was,  that  in 
1762  and  1763,  a  church  was  built  on  the  lot  originall)  given  by  the 
college  ;  that  the  trustees  of  the  college  lent  about  £700  to  the  con- 
gregation, to  aid  in  building  the  church  ;  that  a  burial  ground  wrts 
obtained  in  another  place,  as  a  donation  from  Dr.  Thomas  \^'iggins  ; 
that  the  money  loaned  to  the  congregation  was  eventually  paid  ;  that 
the  inside  of  the  church,  as  well  as  of  the  college  edifice,  was  des- 
troyed by  the  British  and  American  armies,  during  the  revolutiona' 
ry  war,  and  repaired  at  a  very  considerable  expense;  that  the 
church  was  entirely  consumed,  except  the  walls,  which  were  of 
brick,  by  a  fire  which  took  place  by  accident,  in  February,  1813; 


360  NOTES. 

that  it  was  rebuilt  at  the  expense  of  the  congregation,  with  the  aid 
of  5500,  contributed  by  the  college ;  that  the  college  has,  by  con- 
tract, an  exclusive  right  to  the  church  on  the  day  of  commencement, 
on  the  evening  that  precedes  it,  and  at  such  other  times  as  the  facul- 
ty shall  state  in  writing,  that  it  is  needed  for  the  publick  exercises 
of  the  institution  ;  and  also  a  claim  to  one  half  of  the  gallery,  for  the 
use  of  the  students,  on  the  sabbath. 

"  Dr.  Redman,  having  informed  this  board  that  a  piece  of  ground, 
adjoining  the  college,  now  belonging  to  Mr.  Robert  Smith,  of  Phila- 
delphia, is  to  be  sold,  it  is  agreed,  that  the  same  be  purchased  for 
the  use  of  this  corporation ;  and  it  is  desired  that  Dr.  Redman,  a 
member  of  this  board,  do  immediately  agree  with  Mr.  Smith,  and 
have  a  proper  deed  executed  for  the  same  ;  and  the  clerk  is  hereby 
directed  to  sign  an  order  on  one  of  the  managers  of  the  lottery  lately 
dravN^n  in  Philadelphia,  who  may  have  cash  in  hand,  for  the  purchase 
money. 

It  is  ordered,  that  the  salary  of  the  President  of  the  college,  be  the 
sum  of  £300  per  amram,  and  that  the  salary  of  the  present  senior 
Tutor  be  £75,  and  those  of  the  two  junior  Tutors  be  the  sum  of  £65 
per  annum — It  is  ordered  that  an  English  school  be  forthwith  erec- 
ted in  this  college,  which  is  to  be  under  the  inspection  and  govern- 
ment of  the  President  of  the  college,  for  the  time  being. 

Ata  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New-Jersey,  at  Nas- 
sau-Hall, in  Princeton,  on  Wednesday  the  20th  day  of  June,  A.  D. 
1764. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read  ;  and  it  appears  to  the 
board  that  a  quorum  of  the  trustees  not  having  met  last  April,  accord- 
ing to  an  order  made  in  September  last,  six  of  the  trustees  appointed 
a  meeting  on  this  day,  agreeable  to  the  direction  of  the  charter  in 
such  a  case. 

The  President  of  the  college  informed  the  board  that  he  has  erec- 
ted an  English  school  in  the  college,  and  employed  a  master  for  that 
purpose  ;  of  which  this  board  approves,  and  desires  the  Pesident  to 
carry  on  the  same,  in  such  manner,  as  he  shall  think  most  advanta- 
geous to  the  college. 

It  appearing  that  there  is  a  very  large  sum  of  money  due  to  the 
Steward,  from  several  persons  who  have  been  educated  at  this  col- 
lege, and  all  the  orders  of  this  board,  which  have  been  hitherto 
made,  have  been  ineffectual  for  the  recovery  of  the  same,  it  is  now 
ordered,  that  every  student  of  the  college  shall  hereafter  pay  off, 
and  discharge  his  several  debts  to  the  Steward,  and  other  collegiate 
officers,  at  the  end  of  every  fall  vacation,  or  in  default  thereof,  shall 
be  dismissed  the  college  ;  unless  sufficient  security  be  given  to  the 


NOTES.  361 

Steward  of  the  college,  that  the  same  shall  be  fully  discharged  in  six 
weeks ;  and  it  is  further  ordered,  that  every  student  who  shall  not 
produce  to  the  President  of  the  college  a  certificate  from  the  Stew- 
ard, that  all  his  arrears  arc  paid  off  and  discharged,  two  days  before 
the  commencement,  such  student  shall  have  his  name  struck  out  of 
the  printed  Thesis  and  Catalogue,  and  shall  not  be  admitted  to  per- 
form any  of  the  commencement  exercises,  or  receive  a  degree.** 
This  minute  will  serve  to  show  with  what  difficulty  the  dues  of  the 
students  were  collected,  at  the  time  the  minute  was  made ;  and  the 
apparently  harsh  measures  to  which  the  trustees  were  obliged  to 
resort,  to  prevent  the  loss  of  almost  the  only  revenue  on  which  they 
could  calculate  to  pay  the  salaries  of  their  officers.  Nor  did  these 
measures,  nor  any  other  that  they  could  devise,  prove  effectual ;  till 
they  resolved  on  that  which  is  now  in  operation,  namely,  that  every 
student  shall  pay,  in  advance,  the  whole  charges  of  each  session — 
the  treasurer  to  refund  equitably,  if  the  student  leaves  the  college 
before  the  end  of  the  session. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  college  of  New- Jersey,  in 
Nassau-Hall,  at  Princeton,  on  Wednesday  the  25th  day  of  Septem>- 
ber,  A.  D.  1765. 

The  President  of  the  college  represented  to  this  board,  sundry  in.- 
eonveniences  arising  from  the  English  school  being  kept  in  the  col- 
lege ;  therefore  the  trustees  request,  that  the  President  will  please 
to  carry  on  the  same  school,  in  some  convenient  place  out  of  the  col- 
lege, in  such  manner  as  he  shall  think  proper. 

It  is  ordered,  that  Mr.  Stockton  and  Mr.  Berrien  give  directions 
for  the  digging  another  well,  contiguous  to  the  college,  in  case  of 
fire ;  and  draw  upon  the  treasurer  for  the  expense  thereof.'*  An 
additional  well  has  since  been  dug,  for  the  particular  use  of  the  Stew- 
ard ;  but  to  which  ready  access  may  be  had,  not  only  in  case  of  fire, 
but  for  the  general  accommodation  of  the  institution. 

It  is  ordered  by  this  board,  that  hereafter  no  other  articles  what- 
soever be  kept  in  the  buttery  and  sold  to  the  students,  save  only 
bread,  butter,  candles  and  small  beer."  For  many  years  past  there 
has  been  no  buttery  connected  with  the  college  establishment.  It 
has  been  the  prevalent  opinion,  in  the  board  of  trustees,  that  a  butte- 
ry would  be  rather  injurious  than  beneficial  to  the  institution. 

It  is  ordered,  that  the  Steward  take  the  entire  care  of  the  bellfry, 
and  appoint  one  of  the  servants  constantly  to  ring  the  bell,  for  which 
he  is  to  be  allowed  five  pounds  per  annum  ;  that  he  keep  the  door  of 
the  Cupola  constantly  locked,  and  provide  ropes  and  all  things  neces- 
sary, at  the  expense  of  this  board  ;  and  it  is  further  ordered  that  the 
bellman  shall  not  deliver  the  key  to  any  person  except  the  President, 

A3 


36^  NOTES. 

tutors  or  steward."  It  was  considered  of  great  importance  to  pre- 
vent effectually  an  entrance  to  the  bellfry,  except  in  the  presence  of 
the  officers  of  the  college.  Experience  has  shown  the  wisdom  of  this 
measure.  Free  access  to  the  Cupola  of  the  college,  was  probably 
the  cause  of  its  being  burned  in  1802 ;  as  it  was  in  this  part  of  the 
btracture  that  the  fire  commenced. 

*'  Whereas  the  quorum  of  the  trustees  of  this  college  consists  of  a 
large  number,  and  it  is  found  very  difficult  to  convene  a  sufficient 
number  to  transact  the  business  of  the  corporation ;  it  is  therefore 
ordered,  that  for  the  future,  every  trustee  wiio  shall  absent  himself, 
for  three  years,  from  the  meetings  of  the  said  trustees,  and  shall  not 
send  to  the  board  such  reasons  of  his  non-attendance  as  shall  be  sus- 
tained, that  in  such  case,  his  seat  shall  be  judged  vacant,  and  a  new 
member  be  elected  in  his  stead." 

The  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  quorum  of  the  board  of  trustees,  at 
the  times  appointed  for  their  meetings,  was,  in  the  early  periods  of 
the  college,  great  and  highly  embarrassing.  This  rule  had  a  good 
effect — It  has  since  been  made  more  rigorous.  An  absence  from 
three  successive  stated  meetings,  or  for  a  year  and  a  half,  now  pro- 
duces a  forfeiture  of  a  seat  at  the  board. 

*'  It  is  ordered,  for  the  future,  that  every  student  and  graduate 
(the  officers  of  college  excepted)  who  makes  use  of  the  publick  libra- 
ry, shall  pay  to  the  steward  the  sum  of  two  shillings  and  six  pence, 
every  quarter  of  a  year,  to  be  expended  for  the  use  of  the  library. 

It  is  ordered  that  no  student  of  the  college  shall  be  allowed  to  have 
the  key  of  the  library ;  but  that  every  person  who  is  admitted  there 
shall  be  introduced  by  one  of  the  officers  of  the  college. 

It  is  ordered,  that  an  addition  of  one  hundred  pounds  per  annum», 
be  made  to  the  present  salary  of  the  President  of  the  college. 

Mr.  Ogden  is  requested  to  get  sixty-two  good  leather  fire  buckets, 
and  transmit  them  to  the  college  as  soon  as  possible ;  and  it  is  ordered 
that  the  same,  with  those  already  here,  be  carefully  deposited  and 
locked  up  in  the  Engine-house."  An  excellent  fire  engine  had,  before 
this,  been  procured  by  the  college,  and  a  house  erected  for  its  pre- 
servation, which  was  now  made  the  place  of  deposite  for  the  fire 
buckets.  The  prepai-ations  for  extinguishing  fire  are,  at  present, 
more  extensive  and  complete  than  they  were,  at  the  time  to  which 
the  above  minute  refers. 

"  At  a  meeting  of  the  tinistees  of  the  college  of  New-Jersey,  at 
Nassau-Hall,  in  Princeton,  on  Wednesday  the  25th  day  of  June,  A. 
D.  1766. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  read,  and  it  appears  to  the 
boavd,  that  a  quorum  of  tke  trustees  not  having  met  last  November, 


NOTES.  355 

according  to  an  order  made  in  Scpteinber  last ;  six  of  the  trustees 
appointed  a  meeting  on  this  day,  agreeable  to  the  direction  of  the 
charter  in  such  a  case.  ' 

Whereas  the  trustees  have  received,  by  the  hands  of  Dr.  Redman, 
a  certain  order  for  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  for  the  use  of  this 
college,  in  support  of  a  divinity-professor,  drawn  by  Mr.  John  Wil' 
liamson,  of  Hanover,  in  Virginia,  on  Mr.  Samuel  Waterman,  mer- 
chant, in  London  ;  it  is  ordered,  that  the  said  order  be  immediately 
transmitted  to  Mr.  Stockton,  now  at  New-York,  and  bound  for  Lon- 
don ;  impowering  the  said  Mr.  Stockton,  under  the  seal  of  this  col- 
lege, to  present  the  said  order  and  receive  the  cash. — And  Dr.  Red- 
man is  also  farther  desired  to  return  the  thanks  of  this  board  to  said 
Mr.  Williamson,  for  his  generous  donation,  and  to  reqtiest  duplicates 
of  his  order,  in  case  of  the  miscarriage  of  the  one  he  has  sent."  This 
is  the  first  sum  which  is  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  college,  as 
having  been  appropriated  to  tlie  founding  of  a  professorship  of  The- 
ology. The  President  of  the  college,  till  the  establishment  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  in  Princeton,  had  commonly  the  conducting 
of  the  theological  studies  of  such  graduates  as  chose  to  pursue; 
those  studies  at  the  college.  A  professor  of  Theology,  however,  the 
Rev.  John  Blair,  was  appointed,  about  a  year  after  the  above  minute 
■was  made  ;  and  continued  in  office  till  the  accession  of  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon  to  the  Presidency  ;  at  wliich  time  Mr.  Blair  resigned,  and  the 
professorship  was  formally  conferred  on  Dr.  W^itherspoon,  in  connex- 
ion with  the  presidency. 

It  being  moved,  that  an  address  be  drawn  up  and  presented  to  his 
Majesty,  on  his  late  gracious  condescension  to  these  colonies  in  the 
repeal  of  the  stamp  act ;  and  also  that  a  petition  be  at  the  same  time 
presented,  for  the  grant  of  sixty  thousand  acres  of  the  land,  lately 
added  to  the  province  of  New- York,  from  the  territory  of  New- 
Hampshire,  or  elsewhere  in  said  pi'ovince :  It  is  hereby  ordered, 
that  the  honourable  Mr.  Justice  Smith,  the  Rev.  Messrs  De  Ronde 
and  Rodgers,  be  a  committee,  for  drawing  up  the  said  address  and 
petition,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  judge  proper;  and  that  the 
same  be  signed  with  the  name  of  Edward  Sliippen,  Esq.  the  present 
President  of  this  board,  and  when  finished,  that  the  said  papers  be 
transmitted  to  Mr.  Stockton,  one  of  our  members,  in  I^ondon,  with  a. 
letter  to  him,  praying  him  to  take  such  measures,  and  to  engage  such 
friends  of  this  institution  in  London,  to  be  assisting  to  him  in  this 
affair,  as  he  shall  be  advised  by  Dr.  Chandler,  will  be  most  expedi- 
ent ;  and  the  said  committee  arc  also  desired,  to  transmit  a  letter, 
at  the  same  time,  to  Dr.  Chandler,  in  the  name  of  this  board,  hum- 
bly requesting  his  advice  and  aid  in  the  conduct  and  management  of 


564  NOTES. 

this  affair."  The  address  and  petition  ordered  in  this  minute  to  be 
presented  to  the  king,  were  prepared  and  forwarded  to  Mr.  Stockton, 
then  in  London.  On  his  return  he  made  the  following  report — "  Mr. 
Stockton  acquainted  the  board  that  the  papers  which  had  been 
transmitted  to  him,  while  in  England,  by  order  of  the  trustees,  came 
safe  to  his  hands.  That  being  introduced  by  one  of  the  king's  min- 
isters, he  had  the  honour  of  presenting  to  his  majesty  the  address  of 
the  trustees,  on  occasion  of  the  repeal  of  the  American  Stamp  Act, 
which  was  very  graciously  received.  That  the  petition  for  a  grant 
of  lands  was  lodged  in  the  plantation  office  ;  and  that  my  Lord  Shel- 
burne,  had  promised  him  to  lay  the  same  before  the  king  in  council. 
The  board  then  returned  Mr.  Stockton,  their  thanks  for  his  services 
in  behalf  of  th^  college,  while  he  was  in  Great  Britain."  Nothing 
farther  appears  on  the  records,  in  regard  to  this  petition  for  land. 
No  land  was  granted ;  and  probably  the  petition  was  never  heard  of, 
after  it  was  lodged  in  the  plantation  office. 

"The  Rev.  Mr.  De  Ronde,  having  laid  before  this  board  a  plan  for 
the  introduction  of  a  professor  of  divinity,  to  be  obtained  from  Hol- 
land, for  the  service  of  the  Dutch  as  well  as  English  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  these  parts ;  the  trustees,  having  maturely  considered 
the  same,  are  of  opinion,  that  the  proposal  is  not  yet  ripe  for  prose- 
cution, and  therefore  defer  the  farther  consideration  of  it  to  the  next 
meeting. 

Whereas  frequent  complaints  "have  been  made  to  this  board,  that 
detriment  does  and  is  likely  to  accrue  to  this  institution  by  means  of 
the  scholars  boarding  out  of  the  college ;  and  it  appearing,  that  a 
considerable  number  are  now  out,  it  is  hereby  ordered  that  all  the 
students,  who  do  now  board  out  of  the  college,  return,  within  ten 
days  from  this  time,  unless  a  note  be  obtained  from  some  physician, 
certifying,  that  it  is  his  opinion  that  the  health  of  such  student  or 
students  requires  that  he  should  board  out  of  the  college,  nor  even 
then,  till  after  leave  obtained  from  the  President,  or  in  his  absence 
from  the  tutors. 

It  is  further  ordered,  that  no  student  hereafter  board  out  of  the 
college  without  such  certificate  from  a  physician,  and  such  leave 
from  the  President,  or  in  his  absence  from  the  tutors,  as  is  above- 
mentioned."  The  order  heie  taken  on  this  subject  has,  with  some 
temporary  variations,  been  that  which  has  been  observed  till  the 
present  time.  Students  whose  parents  or  guardians  live  in  the  town, 
or  vicinity,  reside  with  them — All  others  are  required  to  board  with 
the  Steward,  and  to  lodge  in  the  edifice,  except  in  case  of  sickness, 
when  with  the  approbation  cf  the  President,  they  are  permitted  to 
go  to  private  lodgings. 


NOTES.  i^65 

"  As  Dr.  Finlej',  the  President  of  this  college,  is  now  in  a  lanquish- 
ing  state,  and  it  is  highly  probable  he  will  be  removed  by  death  be- 
fore the  next  commencement,  or,  at  least,  that  he  will  be  unable  to 
preside  at  the  public  exercises  on  that  occabion  ;  the  trustees  have 
unanimously  appointed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spencer,  to  preside  on  that 
day,  and  to  confer  the  degrees  in  the  usual  manner ;  and  the  said  Mr. 
Spencer,  was  pleased  to  signify  his  acquiescence  in  this  appoint- 
ment ;  And  the  trustees  do  farther  direct,  that  in  case  of  the  l^resi- 
dent's  death,  the  fees  and  perquisites,  usually  paid  to  the  President, 
for  the  degrees,  be  received  by  the  eldest  tutor,  to  be  disposed  of  as 
the  trustees  shall  hereafter  direct." 

Dr.  Finley  was  at  this  time  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  whither 
he  had  repaired  for  the  benefit  of  better  medical  atteritlance  than  he 
could  obtain  at  Princeton.  All  efforts,  however,  were  unavailing,  to 
prolong  his  valuable  life. 

"It  having  pleased  an  holy  God,  to  visit  Dr.  Finley,  the  worthy 
President  of  this  college,  with  great  and  distressing  illness,  whereby 
he  is  at  present,  entirely  unable  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  impor- 
tant station,  and  it  appearing  necessary,  for  the  welfare  of  this  insti- 
tution, that  some  person  be  invested  with  the  power  and  authority  of 
the  President,  in  order  the  better  to  manage  the  affairs  of  the  semi- 
nary ;  this  board  have  appointed  the  Rev  Mr.  Wm.  Tennent,  to  act 
in  the  room  and  stead  of  President  1  inley,  during  his  absence,  and  do 
hereby  invest  him  with  full  i)o\ver  and  authority  to  execute  the 
said  office,  until  next  commencement ;  or  during  President  Finley 's 
Absence  and  disability;  and  Mr.  Tennent  was  qualified  accordingly." 
Dr.  Finley  died  in  Philadelphia,  about  three  weeks  after  the  meet- 
ing of  the  board  at  whicli  tliis  minute  was  made.  Mr.  Spencer,  it 
appears,  acted  as  President  at  the  succeeding  commencement;  and. 
the  government  of  the  college  was  committed  to  Mr.  William  Ten- 
nent. 

The  following  minutes  of  the  trustees  were  made  at  a  meeting  of 
the  board,  Septemlier  24th,  1766,  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Finley,  and 
before  the  choice  of  his  successor. 

"  The  gentlemen  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  to  draw  up  an  ad- 
dress to  his  majesty  and  a  petition,  &c.  report  that  they  have  trans- 
acted that  affair  agreeable  to  said  order. 

Dr.  Redman  having  been  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  to  trans- 
mit to  Mr.  Stockton  a  certain  order,  &.c.  it  is  reported  that  he  has 
transacted  that  affair  agreeable  to  said  appointment. 

The  proposal  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  De  Ronde,  laid  before  the 
board,  at  the  last  meeting,  relating  to  the  introduttion  of  a  profeaiior 
of  divinity,  is  again  deferred  to  further  consideration.* 


366  NOTES. 

The  trustees  also  considering  the  great  and  important  services 
that  have  been  rendered  to  this  institution  by  Mr.  Jeremiah  Halsey, 
over  and  above  the  necessary  duties  of  his  office  as  a  tutor  of  the 
college,  do,  in  consideration  of  his  said  extraordinary  and  faithful 
services,  unanimously  agree,  that  the  sum  of  sixty-one  pounds,  be- 
ing the  graduation  money,  by  calculation,  now  in  his  hands,  be  pre- 
sented to  him,  or  whatever  the  fees  may  amount  to,  be  the  same 
more  or  less." 

Mr.  Halsey  held  the  office  of  tutor  in  college  longer,  it  is  believed, 
than  any  other  individual.  He  was  one  of  the  best  scholars  that  was 
ever  educated  in  the  institution.  He  was,  at  this  time,  a  preacher  of 
the  gospel,  was  afterwards  settled  in  the  ministry,  and  for  a  number 
of  years  w^as  a?  trustee  of  the  college. 

"  Whereas  sundry  weighty  and  important  reasons  have  induced 
this  board  to  augment  the  late  worthy  President's  salary,  from  time 
to  time,  to  the  sum  of  £400 ;  but  in  as  much  as  the  occasion  of  the 
late  necessary  augmentation  is  removed,  and  the  present  low  state  of 
the  college  funds  will  not  allow  this  board  to  continue  that  salary  for 
the  future,  in  its  present  circumstances  ;  it  is  agreed,  therefore,  that 
the  stated  salary  of  the  next  President  shall  be  £250,  with  the  usual 
perquisites." 

Some  extracts  will  now  be  given  from  the  histoiy  of  the  college 
composed  by  Doct.Finley,  and  repeatedly  referred  to  already.  They 
have  been  selected  with  a  view  to  show,  in  as  summary  a  manner  as 
possible,  the  method  of  discipline  or  government,  at  this  period  ;  the 
course  of  study  ;  the  style  of  living  ;  the  expense  of  residence  ;  the 
patronage  that  had  recently  been  obtained  ;  and  the  claims  of  the 
institution  on  the  benevolence  and  liberality  of  the  publick. 

"  In  the  exercise  of  discipline,  the  more  usual  process  is  this — The 
President  or  tutors,  separately  or  in  conjunction,  privately  reason 
with  the  offender,  in  order  to  m.ake  him  sensible  of  his  ill  conduct ; 
and  endeavour  by  their  manner  of  address,  to  convince  him,  that  in 
their  proceedings  against  him,  they  are  actuated  from  motives  of 
sincere  regard  to  his  own  welfare,  and  that  their  severity  is  not  the 
effect  of  moroseness,  ill  nature,  or  personal  resentment.  If  the  of- 
fence charged,  be  denied,  evidences  are  adduced  in  proof  of  it.  But 
if  the  youth  discovers  an  ingenuous  temper,  by  an  open,  frank  ac- 
knowledgment, such  a  disposition  is  encouraged,  by  a  mitigation  of 
the  punishment.  On  the  other  hand,  all  low  and  dishonest  artifices, 
particularly  lying  and  wilful  equivocation,  are  resented  as  the  high- 
est aggravations.  In  the  res\dt,  if  found  guilty,  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  offence,  he  is  dismissed,  either  with  a  private  reprimand, 
Qj*  required  to  submit  to  a  public  formal  admonition ;  or,  to  make  a 


NOTES.  367 

penitent  confession  in  the  hall,  before  the  whole  house  ;  or  deprived 
of  some  of  the  peculiar  privileges  of  his  class  ;  or,  for  some  limited 
time,  prohibited  a  free  conversation  with  his  fellow  students,  and 
admission  into  their  chambers,  as  unworthy  of  their  society  ;  or  sus- 
pended from  residence,  and  all  the  privileges  of  the  college,  until 
the  matter  be  laid  before  a  committee  of  six  of  the  trustees.  In  these 
♦ocveral  kinds  and  degrees  of  punishment,  an  impartial  regard  is  had 
not  only  to  the  nature  of  the  ofl'cnce,  but  also  to  the  disj)osition,  age, 
rank  in  college,  habitual  conduct,  and  other  circumstances  of  the  of- 
fender. Suspension  is  the  highest  censure  the  President  and  Tutors 
can  inflict.  The  power  of  expulsion  is  invested  in  any  six  of  the 
trustees  convened  ;  who,  having  had  no  connection  with  the  offender, 
cannot  be  suspected  of  prepossession  or  partiality.     *     *     *     * 

As  to  the  branches  of  literature  taught  here,  they  are  the  same 
with  those  which  are  made  parts  of  education  in  the  European  col- 
leges, save  only  such,  as  may  be  occasioned  by  the  infancy  of  this 
institution.  The  students  are  divided  into  four  distinct  classes, 
which  are  callec^  the  Freshman,  the  So])homore,  the  Junior,  and  the 
Senior.  In  each  of  these  they  continue  one  year  ;  givirig  and  iv- 
ceiving,  in  their  turns,  those  tokens  of  respect  and  subjection,  Avhich 
belong  to  their  standings  ;  in  order  to  preserve  a  due  subordination. 

On  the  third  Wednesday  in  August  annually,  the  Senior  class  are 
examined  bv  the  trustees,  the  college  ofiicers,  and  other  gentlemen 
of  learning  then  present,  throughout  all  the  branches  of  literature, 
they  have  been  here  taught.  And  if  approved,  as  worthy  of  aca- 
demical honours,  the  President  assigns  them  the  parts,  they  are 
respectively  to  perform  at  the  anniversary  commencement ;  the 
general  proceedings  of  which,  are  so  publickly  known,  as  to  super- 
cede all  necessity  of  description.  They  are  then  graduated  Bachelors 
of  Arts.  After  an  interval  of  three  years,  they  are  usually  admit- 
ted to  the  Masters  degree.  But  to  this  latter  the  terms  of  admission, 
for  these  few  years  past,  have  not  been  so  lax  and  indeterminate  as 
formerly.         *         *         *         * 

We  come  now  to  give  some  account  of  the  manner  together  with 
the  expenses  of  boarding.  It  is  time,  so  minute  a  detail  of  the  little 
affairs  of  a  college,  affords  but  a  dry  and  unentertaining  story  :  and 
a  relation  of  the  economy  of  a  kitchen  and  dining  room,  would  be 
still  more  low  and  vulgar.  But  as  the  judicious  reader  must  be  sen- 
sible, that  a  proper  regulation  of  these  matters,  is  of  more  conse- 
quence to  such  a  community,  than  a  thousand  things  that  would 
make  a  more  shining  figure  in  description ;  it  is  presumed,  that  some 
account  of  them  may  be  expected  ;  and  that  he  will  excuse  the  dul- 
ncss  of  the  narrative,  for  the  sake  of  the  importance  of  the  informa- 


568  NOTES. 

tion,  to  those  especially  who  may  incline  to  educate  their  sons  at 
this  college. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  steward  to  provide  all  necessaries  for  the 
use  of  the  society,  to  employ  cooks  and  other  servants  to  cleanse  the 
chambers,  make  the  beds,  &cc.  The  tutors,  and  all  the  students, 
and  sometimes  the  president,  eat  together  in  the  dining-hall,  always 
seated  according  to  rank  and  seniority.  No  private  meals  are  al- 
lowed in  their  chambers,  except  with  express  license,  on  special 
occasions.  Tea  and  coffee  are  served  up  for  breakfast.  At  dinner, 
they  have,  in  turn,  almost  all  the  variety  of  fish  and  flesh  the  coun- 
try here  affords  ;  and  sometirines  pies  ;  every  dish  of  the  same  sort, 
and  alike  dressed,  on  one  day  ;  but  with  as  great  difference,  as  to 
the  kinds  of  provision  and  manner  of  cookery,  on  different  days,  as 
the  market  and  other  circumstances  Avill  admit.  Indeed,  no  luxu- 
rious dainties,  or  costly  delicacies,  can  be  looked  for  among  the  vi- 
ands of  a  college,  where  health  and  economy  are  alone  consulted  in 
the  furniture  of  the  tables  These,  however,  are  plentifully  suppli- 
ed, without  weight  or  measure  allowance  :  and  the  meals  are  con- 
ducted with  regularity  and  decorum  ;  waiters  being  constantly  in 
attendance.  The  general  table  drink  is  small  beer  or  cider.  For 
supper,  milk  only  is  the  standing  allowance,  chocolate  is  sometimes 
served  as  a  change.  #  *  * 

The  annual  charge  of  education,  including  tuition  money,  chamber 
reiit,  steward's  salary,  servants  wages,  washing,  fire-wood,  and  can- 
dles, with  contingencies,  may  amount,  communibus  annis,  to  about 
twenty-five  pounds,  six  shillings,  lawful  money  of  New- Jersey  ;  for 
the  market  rises  and  falls;  and  on  some  of  those  articles,  the  expen- 
ses are  arbitrary.  Hence,  frugality  in  the  student,  may  sometimes, 
without  meanness,  reduce  the  accompt.  The  particulars,  as  they 
stand  for  the  most  part,  in  the  steward's  books,  are  here  spepified, 

and  charged  upon  an  average. 

Tuition  money  £    4  0  0 

Boarding,  steward's  salary,  and    ^  15  0  0 

servants  wages  inclusive         % 

Chamber  rent 

Washing 

Wood  and  candles 

Contingent  charges 


Though  this  institution  has  succeeded  beyond  the  expectation  of 
4ts  warmest  friends,  notwithstanding  the  severe  shocks  it  received^ 
by  the  death  of  three  Presidents,  in  so  quirk  succession  ;  and  its  un- 


1 

0 

0 

3 

0 

0 

2 

0 

0 

0 

6 

0 

£25 

6 

0 

NOTES,  369 

settled  state,  till  the  chair  was  filled  ;  yet  it  still  labours  under 
Several  deficiencies,  wliich  nothing  but  the  beneficent  hand  of 
charity  can  relieve.  With  mathematical  instruments,  and  an  ap- 
paratus for  experiments  in  natural  philosophy,  it  is  but  very 
indifferently  furnished.  The  library  wants  many  of  the  most  ap- 
proved modem  writers,  as  hath  been  already  hinted.  It  would  be 
also  of  eminent  service,  had  it  revenues  ample  enough  to  support 
professors  in  some  of  the  distinct  branches  of  literature  ;  who 
might  each  make  a  figure  in  his  own  province,  could  his  studies  and 
instructions  be  confined  to  his  peculiar  department.  A  professor  of 
divinity,  especially  for  the  benefit  of  the  theological  students,  would 
be  of  singular  utility.  At  present,  there  are  three  tutors,  besides 
the  President.  To  those,  the  college  fund,  can  as  yet,  afford  but 
scanty  livings  ;  the  tutors  particularly,  unless  they  assume  a  vow 
of  celibacy,  are  unable  to  continue  in  their  offices  for  life.  Hence  it 
happens,  that  when  a  young  gentleman  has,  by  study  and  experi- 
ence, thoroughly  qualified  himself  for  the  employment,  he  often 
resigns  it ;  and  the  trustees  are  then  obliged  to  elect  another,  per- 
haps not  equally  fit  for  it. 

The  fund,  until  within  about  a  year  past,  hath  not  much  exceed- 
ed £1300.  But  from  a  lottery,  which  was  generously  set  on  foot  by 
a  number  of  gentlemen  in  Philadelphia,  in  favour  of  the  institution, 
it  was  increased  to  nearly  jE2800,  the  neat  produce  of  the  same,  af- 
ter necessary  charges,  and  losses  which  usually  happen,  besides 
what  was  disbursed  to  pay  urgent  debts,  being  about  £l500.  Ex- 
clusive of  the  annual  support  of  officers,  the  expenses  from  other 
quarters  are  not  inconsiderable ;  nay  do  yearly  increase,  as  the  num- 
ber of  students  increases.         #*<:#* 

Indeed  from  the  countenance  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
Province,  in  passing  an  act  for  a  lottery  of  three  thousand  pounds, 
for  the  benefit  of  this  college,  some  good  addition  will  probably  be 
made  to  its  revenues.  But  the  returns  of  this  lottery,  which  was 
lately  drawn,  are  not  yet  made  ;  the  accompts  being  still  unsettled. 
However,  much,  much  greater  losses  have  accrued  therein,  than 
might  have  been  reasonably  expected  ;  especially  from  the  very 
unfortunate  issue  of  the  tickets  left,  on  the  risque  of  the  college,  at 
the  time  of  drawing.  So  that  the  managers  have  reason  to  think, 
that,  on  the  close  of  their  books,  the  clear  profits  will  not  much  ex- 
ceed £2200.  Such  an  accession  can  only  enable  the  trustees  to 
make  some  addition,  perhaps  to  the  annual  allowances  of  the  college 
officers  ;  though  not  such  as  will  be  sufficient  to  retain  them  for  life, 
in  the  character  of  jjrofessors,  much  less  to  maintain  a  greater  num- 
ber.        ♦         ^         ♦         ♦ 

B  3 


Sro  NOTES. 


—————  Not  long  since,  a  very  generous  legacy  was  ordered  id 
the  will  of  the  late  colonel  Alford,  of  Charles-Town,  in  Massachu- 
setts-Bay :  The  sum  designed  for  this  college,  is  not  yet  precisely 
ascertained,  that  being  left  to  the  discretion  of  his  executors  :  It  i^ 
presumed  hoAvever,  from  good  intelligence,  that  the  appropriation 
here  will  not  be  less  in  value  than  ^500  sterling.  Benefactions  of 
this  sort  are  peculiarly  honcarable — an  indubitable  indication  of  a 
warm  regard  for  the  interests  of  learning,  and  of  the  testator's  high 
sense  of  the  utility  of  this  seat  of  education  in  particular.  No  ac- 
tions of  a  man's  life  are  more  memorable,  than  his  deeds  of  liberali- 
ty, before  the  hour  of  death  ;  when  chiefly  he  considers,  what  dis- 
tribution of  the  gifts  of  heaven  may  be  most  agreeable  to  the  will  of 
his  divine  benefactor.  May  providence  excite  an  emulation  in  the 
breasts  of  others,  among  the  virtuous  and  opulent,  to  follow  an  ex- 
ample of  such  laudable  and  christian  benevolence  :  A  benevolence, 
which  will  extend  its  influence  to  remote  posterity,  and  advance  the 
genuine  felicity  of  their  country,  when  they  are  received  into  ever- 
lasting habitations,  and  are  triumphing  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  glori- 
ous recompense  of  reward. 

Thus  is  exhibited  a  faithful  account  of  the  origin  and  present  state 
of  the  college  of  New-Jersey  :  A  college  originally  designed  for  the 
promotion  of  the  general  interests  of  Christianity,  as  well  as  the  cul- 
tivation of  human  science.  This  end,  therefore  is  kept  in  view,  in 
all  the  instructions  and  modes  of  discipline.  To  inculcate  or  even 
recommend  the  discriminating  opinions  of  any  one  protestant  denom- 
ination, in  preference  to  another,  is  carefully  avoided.  In  these 
matters,  the  students  are  left  without  any  bias  offered  to  their  pri- 
vate judgments,  and  are  always  allowed,  without  restraint,  to  attend 
the  religious  worship  of  any  protestant  society,  whenever  they  have 
opportunity. 

Upon  the  vi^hole,  it  is  presumed  it  must  appear  manifest  upon  re- 
flection, to  every  serious  observer,  that  providence  hath,  in  a  pecu- 
liar manner,  superintended  the  affairs  of  this  nurser>%  from  its  foun- 
dation to  the  present  time.  And  indeed,  it  is  esteemed  by  its 
directors  their  highest  honour  and  happiness,  that  the  Almighty 
hath  vouchsafed  so  remarkably  to  countenance  and  succeed  their 
undertaking,  and  tliereby  to  encourage  their  humble  expectations 
of  his  continued  benediction.  To  the  singular  favour  of  Heaven  on 
the  means  of  instruction  here  used,  it  must  be  gratefully  ascribed, 
that  many  youth  who  have  come  to  Nassau-Hall  for  education, 
without  any  just  sense  of  the  obligations  either  of  natural  or  revealed 
religion,  have  been  here  effectually  reformed,  become  men  of  solid 
and  rational  piety,  and  now  appear  upon  the  stage  of  public  action. 


NOTES.  sn 

employing  their  talents  to  the  honour  of  the  Supreme  Bestower,  in 
promoting  the  good  of  mankind.  Hence  the  managers  of  this  semi- 
nary arc  emboldened  to  hope,  that  while  the  original  design  of  its 
establishment  is  steadily  pursued,  the  same  indulgent  providence 
•whicli  hath  hitherto  supported  it,  amidst  the  reproaches  of  envy, 
and  the  oppositions  of  malice,  will  still  raise  up  benefactors  to  sup- 
ply its  deficiencies,  and  succeed  their  disinterested  endeavours,  to 
train  up  our  youth  in  the  paths  of  piety  and  erudition,  for  the  future 
service  of  their  country,  in  any  civil  or  ecclesiastical  employ- 
ments." 

In  connexion  with  these  extracts  from  Dr.  Finley's  history  of  the 
college,  its  alumni,  and  others  whotakeaninterestin  the  literature  of 
our  country,  will,  it  is  believed,  be  gratified  with  the  perusal  of  what 
may  not  improperly  be  regarded  as  a  history  of  a  Commencement^ 
during  the  Doctor's  administration.  For  the  manuscript  copy  of 
this  literary  curiosity,  the  writer  is  indebted  to  the  late  Doctor  Ebe- 
iiczer  Finley,  of  Charleston,  South-Carolina.  About  five  years 
since,  when  that  gentleman,  then  the  only  surviving  son  of  President 
Finley,  had  two  sons  of  his  own  at  the  college,  he  sent  this  manu- 
script, in  the  hand  writing  of  his  father,  to  the  author  of  this  note, 
with  a  request  that  it  might  be  deposited  among  the  archieves  of  the 
institution.  His  request  has  been  carefully  complied  with  ;  but  the 
preservation  of  ancient  documents  is  best  insured  by  the  multiplica- 
tion of  copies,  through  the  medium  of  the  press.  For  this  reason,  as 
well  as  others,  it  has  been  determined  to  publish  the  following 
**  process."  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark,  that  each  exercise 
announced  by  the  President,  must  be  supposed  to  have  been 
performed,  before  the  attention  of  the  audience  was  called  to  that 
which  immediately  follows.  The  names  of  some  of  the  speakers, 
for  what  reason  is  not  known,  are  omitted. 

THE 
PROCESS   OF  THE 

PUBLICK  COMMENXEMENT 

IN 
NASSAU-HALL ; 

SEPTEMBER, 
A.D.  1764. 


THE  PROCESS,  &c. 

The  trustees  being  at  the  President's  house,  the  candidates  stand- 
ing at  the  door,  two  *nd  two,  upon  his  saying— < 


Srz  NOTES. 

Progredimini  Juvenes, 

They  walk— ^ 

1.  The  Bachelor  candidates. 

2.  The  Masters. 

3.  The  Tutors,  and  any  Ministers  present, 

4.  The  Trustees. 

5.  The  President — the  Governor  at  his  right  hand.- 
All  seated — Prayer  succeeds. 

Praeses  (capite  tecto) — 
"  Auditores  dooti  ac  benevoli,  Juvenes  primam  Lauream  ambien- 
"  tes,  cupiunt  vos  per  Oratorem  salutare  ;  quod  illis  a  vobis  conces- 
"  sum  fidunt." 

Ascendat  Orator  salutatorius. 

Distribuantur  Theses. 

*        #         * 

Quoniam,  docti  Auditores,  accurata  disputandi  Ratio  ad  verum  a 
falso  secemendum  plurimum  valet,  Juvenes  artibus  initiati,  parvula 
quaedam  eorum  in  ea  Specimina,  vobis  jam  sunt  exhibituri. 

Prima  Disputatio,  syllogistice  tractanda — 

Thesis  est, 

Mentiri,  ut  vel  Natio  conservetur,  hand  fas  est. 

Qui  hanc  Thesin  probare  atque  defendere  statuit,  ascendat, 

Foster. 

Qui  Thesin  oppugnari  judicavit,  ascendat. 

Primus  Opponens — Lawrexce. 

Quanquam  concederetur  Sermonem  ad  felicitatem  hominum  prg^ 
vehendam  constitutum  fuisse,  attamen  non  aeque  nobis  constat  quid 
semper  ad  eum  finem  conducit ;  sed  magis  credendum  est  Menda- 
cium  nunquam  ad  eum  facere ;  dum  Exemplum  Virtutis  omnibus 
prodesse  potest. 

2  dus  Opponens — Smith. 

Determinatio. 

Mentiri,  quacunque  de  causa,  ignobile  et  sua  Natura  pravum 
esse,  res  ipsa  clamat,  et  ferme  ab  omnibus,  prsecipue  Virtutem  col- 
entibus,  conceditur.  Quod  si  omnino  fas  esse  possit,  Deus  compro- 
bat ;  et  si  ille  possit  probare,  non  est  necessario  verax  ;  sed  impqs- 
sibile  tst  eum  mentiri,  ergo  et  mendacium  probare. 


NOTES.  373 

Nee  ratio  Veritatis  ab  hominum  Felicitate,  sed  Dei  Rectitudine 
pendet :  et  quoHiam  sibi  semper  constare  necesse  est,  non  potest  non 
esse  rectus.  Ergo  fitlsum  necessario  improbat,  ut  ejus  naturx  op- 
positum  :  et  vetat  Malum  facere,  ut  quidvis  Bonum  inde  sequatur, 
etiam  ut  Natio  conservetur. 


The  following  is  an  English  forensick  Dispute,  which  for  Reasons 
often  mentioned,  is  introduced,  viz — it  entertains  the  English  part 
of  the  Audience  ;  tends  to  the  cultivation  of  our  native  Language, 
and  has  been  agreeable  on  former  occasions  ;  which  I  presume  are 
sufficient  apologies  for  continuing  the  custom. 

The  Thesis  is, 

Somnia  non  sunt  universalitcr  inania,  et  nihil  significantia. 

In  English — 

All  dreams  are  not  useless  and  insignificant. 

Who  undertakes  the  defence  of  this  position  ? — Miller. 

Whoever  has  any  objections  against  what  has  been  offered,  let 
l^im  speak — Trkdwell. 

Who  judges  it  fit  to  answer  these  objections  ? — McCrery. 

Determination. 

Although  I  see  no  necessity  of  accounting  for  all  dreams  from  the 
Agency  of  other  Spirits,  any  more  than  to  interest  them  in  the  Rev- 
eries of  the  mind,  when  lost  in  mere  imaginary  Scenes  while  we  are 
awake,  without  reflecting  that  they  are  not  realities  :  Yet  that  for- 
eign Spirits  have  access  to  ours,  as  well  when  we  are  asleep  as 
awake,  is  inconsistent  with  no  Principle  of  Reason.  And  if  some 
dreams  cannot  otherwise  be  accounted  for,  than  by  having  recourse 
to  foreign  S])intb,  we  must  then  admit  their  agency  ;  since  there  can 
be  no  effect  without  a  cause.  And  though  it  must  be  granted  that 
our  own  Spirits  at  the  same  time  think,  yet  there's  no  Inconsistency 
in  supposing  that  other  Spirits  gave  Occasion  to  their  thinking  of 
some  Subjects  rather  than  others,  as  is  the  Case  in  conversing  to- 
gether when  we  arc  awake. 

What  has  been  Matter  of  fact  is  certainly  still  possible  :  And  wc 
know  that  in  some  Cases  infinite  Wisdom  chose  to  employ  Angels 
to  communicate  divine  Instructions  in  Dreams  ;  which  establishes 
the  general  Doctrine.  And  Experience  assures  us  that  Impressions 
made  on  these  Occasions,  are  very  deep  and  lively  :  and  as  has  been 
observed,  those  ven'  Dreams  that  come  from  fulness  of  Business,  or 
other  Causes  mentioned,  show  us  the  Temper  of  our  Mixids,  and  in 
that  View  arc  useful  and  significant. 


$74  NOTES. 

To  unbend  the  Mind  by  an  agreeable  Variety,  as  far  as  may  con- 
sist with  the  Exercises  of  the  Day,  an  English  intermediate  Oration 
is  next  to  be  delivered. 

Ascendat  Orator  intermedins. 


Thesis  proxime  discutienda,  modo  pene  forensi,  est, 
Lux  Rationis  sola,  Incitamenta  ad  Virtutem  satis  efficacia,  non 
praebet. 

Qui  banc  Thesin  primus  defendere  statuit,  procedat WooD' 

HULL. 

Qui  primus  opponit  Thesi,  procedat. 
Lawrence. 
Leake, 
Qui  Objectiones  refellere,  et  Thesin  firmare  suscipit,    proce- 
dat. 

Determinatio. 
Recto  notatum  fuit,  quod  Naturam  Peccati  probe  scire  necessari- 
um  est,  ad  Virtutem  rite  xstimandum.  Peccato  enim  ignoto,  odisse 
illud  nequimus  ;  et  sine  Peccati  odio,  nulla  datur  Virtus.  Et  quoni- 
am  clarum  est,  quod  homines.  Luce  Naturae  sola  freti,  ignorarunt 
quid  sit  virtus,  et  quales  ejus  Consequentise  in  Seculo  futuro  ;  nes-t 
civerunt  Deum,  verx  Virtutis  Exemplar,  nee  non  Amorem  et  Satis- 
factionem  Domini  Salvatoris,  qux  sola  sunt  Incitamenta  ad  Virtutem 
idonea ;  Thesis  Valet, 

The  next  Thesis  is, 
Nullam  veram  Virtutem  habet,  qui  omnes  non  habet. 

In  English — 
He  has  not  one  true  virtue,  who  has  not  every  one. 
Who  undertakes  to  defend  this  position  ? — Tuttle. 
If  any  think  fit  to  oppose  it,  let  him  appear — Hazard. 
Who  judges  he  can  confute  these  arguments  let  him  speak— «■ 
Clagget. 

Determination. 
That  the  Thesis  is  true,  appears  demonstrable  both  from  the 
Simplicity  of  the  Soul  and  the  Nature  of  Virtue.  As  the  Soul  can- 
not be  divided  into  any  Parts,  if  one  Vice  is  prevalent  it  possesses 
the  Soul  entirely,  and  the  whole  principle  of  action  is  vitiated.  And 
as  Virtue  is  a  Disposition  of  Mind  to  whatever  is  morally  good,  and 
Goodness  must  be  uniform,  and  of  a  piece,  it  can  no  more  be  dis- 
membered than  the  Soul ;  therefore  whatever  mixture  of  vice  there 
may  be  with  virtue,  one  of  them  must  necessarily  predominate  ;  for 
seeing  that  they  are  perfectly  opposite  to  each  other,  it  is  as  impos- 


NOTES.  375J 

sible  for  a  Person  to  be  under  the  governing  power  of  both  at  once, 
as  for  Fire  and  Water  to  subsist  together,  n  ithout  the  one's  being 
extinguished,  or  the  other  evaporated. 

Virtue  consists  in  the  Love  of  God  and  man,  nor  can  it  be  separa- 
ted :  tlie  Pretence  is  not  tolerable,  that  a  Hater  of  his  Brother 
should  be  a  Lover  of  God.  Now  'tis  certain  that  one  cannot  love 
and  hate  the  same  thing  at  the  same  Time,  and  in  the  same  Res- 
pect. There  must  then  be  such  a  necessary  Connexion  of  all  vir- 
tues, that  one  cannot  possibly  be  without  all :  consequently  a  single 
virtue,  where  any  vice  prevails,  is  but  a  counterfeit. 

Exercitia  qux  restant  ad  tcrtiam  Horam  1*.  M.  postponuntur. 
The  remaining  exercises  of  the  Day  begin  at  three  o'clock   af- 
ternoon. 


Orator  hujus  Classis  valcdictorius  ascendat. 

Exercitia,  qux  a  Candidatis  secundi  Gradus  prxstanda  sunt,  jam 
sequuntur. 

Thesis  disputanda  hxc  est,  sell : 

Jephtha  Filiam  non  immolavit. 

Ascendat  hujus  Quxstionis  Hcspondens — Mr.  Kkhk. 

Ascendat  primus  qui  hanc  Thesin  vcrani  esse  ncgat. 

Dcterminatio. 

Fatendum  est,  quod  in  hac  Quaestionc  docti  in  Partes  abeunt.  Sed 
ut  Theseos  Veritas  appareat,  considcrandum  est  quod  fuit  Jephthx 
Votum — "  Qui — vel,  quodcunquc — exierit  e  foribus  Domus  mex,  in 
*'  Occursum  meum,  erit  Domini,  c/,  vel,  offerani  illud  in  Holocaus  • 
*'  tum."  q.  d.  vel  aptum  erit  ad  Sacrificium,  vel  non  :  si  prius, 
erit  in  Holocaustum  ;  si  non,  erit  Domino  sacrum,  devotum.  liebrxx 
Voces  non  aliter  necessario  significant :  nam  Van  sxpe  disjunctive 
sumitur,  ut  multis  exemplis  patet.  Adde,  quod  Deus  detestatus 
est  humanas  Victimas,  et  improbavit ;  quod  cum  Sacerdotes  saltern 
norunt,  non  verisimile  est  Jephtham  eos  in  tanta  causa  non  consu- 
luisse.  Nee  parvum  habet  momentum,  Filiam  ejus  Spatium  deflcn- 
di,  non  Mortem  sed  Virginitatem,  petiisse  ;  cum  enim  dicitur  Jeph- 
tha fecisse  quod  voverat,  sequitur,  et  non  cognoverat  Viruni. 

Descendant  Candidati  Honores  hujus  CoUegii  ambientes. 

Ad  CURATORES. 

Juvenes,  quos  coram  vobis,  Curatores  honorandi  ac  rcvcrendi, 
jam  sisto,  publico  Examini,  secundum  hujus  Academix  Leges, 
subjecti,  habiti  fuerunt  omnino  digni  qui  Honoribus  academicis  exor- 
narentur:  Vobis  igitur  comprobantibus,  illos  ad  Gradum  petitum, 
toto  Animo  admittam. 


sre  NOTES. 

Eadem  Auctoritate  regia,  virum  Davidem  McGregor,  Ndvang- 
li2e,  de  Religione  et  Literis  bene  meritum,  ad  secundum  in  Artibus 
Gradum,  Honoris  causa,  admitto. 

Eadem  Auctoritate,  Reverendum  Nathan  Kerr,  Davidem  Cald- 
well, Concionatorem  Evangelii,  necessario  absentem  ;  Reverendum 
Johannem  Strain,  hujus  CoUegii  alumnos  ;  ad  secundum  in  Artibus 
Gradum  admitto. 

Hoc  Anno  etiam. 

Jacobus  Thompson,  A.  M.  Thomas  Henderson,  A.  M.  Johannes 
Leflferty,  A.  M. 

Forma  constituendi  A.  B. 

Auctoritate,  regio  Diplomate  mihi  collata,  pro  More  Academia- 
rum  in  Anglia,  vos  ad  primum  in  artibus  Gradum  admitto ;  vobisque 
hunc  Librum  trado,  una  cum  Potestate  in  Artibus  prselegendi  et  do- 
cendi,  quotiescunque  ad  hoc  munus  evocati  fueritis  :  Cujus,  hoc 
Instrumentum,  Sigillo  nostri  CoUegii  ratum,  testimonium  sit. 
Forma  constituendi  A.  M. 

Auctoritate,  regio  Diplomate  mihi  collata,  pro  More  Academia- 
rum  in  Anglia,  vos  ad  secundum  in  Artibus  Gradum  admitto  ;  vo- 
bisque hunc  Librum  trado,  una  cum  potestate  in  Artibus  praelegen- 
di,  publiceque  profitendi  ac  docendi,  quotiescunque  ad  hoc  Munus 
evocati  fueritis  :  cujus,  hoc  Instrumentum,  Sigillo  nostri  CoUegii  ra- 
tum, Testimonium  sit. 


In  constituendo  A.  M.  honorarios,  inseratur  hxc  Clausula,  scil— - 
*'  ad  secundum  in  Artibus  Gradum,  Honoris  Causa,  admitto. 

Orator  magistralis  valedictorius. 
Rev.  McGregor. 
Rev.  Nathan  Kerr. 

Dialogue. 
Prayer. 

It  seldom  happens  that  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  sixty  years  a 
ijfian  is  found  who  can  speak  of  persons  and  things,  from  his  perso- 
nal knowledge. in  mature  life.  One  such  fortunate  occurrence,  how- 
ever, the  writer  has  met  with.  The  Rev.  Doctor  John  Woodhull,  of 
Monmouth,  in  New-Jersey,  at  this  time  the  oldest  trustee  of  the  col- 
lege, was  the  pupil  of  President  Finley.  He,  on  being  requested, 
has  furnished  a  short  sketch  of  his  venerated  teacher  ;  and 
an  account  of  the  revival  of  religion  which  took  place  in  the  col- 
lege when  he  was  a  student.  The  communication  is  as  follows — 
"  Doctor  Finley,  was  a  man  of  small  stature,  and  ©f  a  round  and 


NOTES.  S77 

ruddy  countenance.  In  the  pulpit,  he  was  ahvay«  solemn  and  sen- 
sible, and  sometimes  glowing  with  fervour.  His  learning  was  very 
extensive — Every  branch  of  study  taught  in  the  college  appeared  to 
be  familiar  to  him.  Among  other  things,  he  taught  Latin,  Greek 
and  Helirew,  in  the  Senior  year.  He  was  highly  respected,  and 
greatly  beloved  by  the  students  ;  and  had  very  little  difficulty  in 
governing  the  college.  He  died  in  my  Senior  year,  in  Pliiladelpl\ia, 
of  a  complaint  in  the  Liver ;  and  requested  to  be  carried  to  the 
gi*ave  by  some  of  the  Senior  class.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and 
I  was  one  of  those  who  were  the  bearers  of  his  corpse. 

*'  The  number  of  students  in  college,  at  this  time,  was  about  one 
hundred.  Thirty-one  commenced  in  the  class  before  mine,  and  the 
same  number  in  the  class  to  which  I  belonged.  These  were  the 
largest  classes  that  had  commenced  at  that  time.  My  class  lost  a 
good  many  from  the  time  we  entered  Freshmen,  to  the  time  wc  com- 
menced— say  13  or  14 — yet  none  by  expulsion. 

*'  When  I  was  in  college,  it  was  said  there  were  about  Fifty  boys  in 
the  school.  We  supposed  there  were  about  One  Hundred  and  Fifty 
in  all,  in  the  edifice.  The  School  was  under  the  care  of  the  trustees. 
Most  of  the  boys  boarded  in  college,  and  ate  in  the  dining  room,  at  a 
table  by  themselves.  The  trustees  appointed  and  paid  the  teachers. 
They  were  excellent  ones  in  Dr.  Finley's  time,  namely,  Joseph  Peri- 
am  and  Tapping  Reeve.  The  college  and  the  school,  I  believe,  had 
never  before  been  in  so  flourishing  a  situation — The  numbers  had 
never  before  been  so  great. 

"  As  to  revivals  of  religion,  there  were  some  partial  ones  in  college 
before  Dr.  Finley's  time  ;  but  in  his  time  there  was  something  gen- 
eral. It  began  in  1762,  in  the  Freshman  class,  to  which  I  then  be- 
longed. It  was  a  pretty  large  class,  containing  between  25  and  30 
members.  Almost  as  soon  as  the  session  commenced,  ti\is  class  met, 
once  in  the  week,  for  prayer.  One  of  the  members  became  deeply 
impressed  ;  and  this  affected  the  whole  class. — The  other  classes, 
and  the  whole  college,  soon  became  much  impressed.  Every  class 
became  a  praying  society  ;  and  the  whole  college  met  once  a  week, 
for  prayer — Tiiere  was,  likewise,  a  private  select  society.  Societies 
were  also  held,  by  tl\e  students,  in  the  town  and  in  the  country.  I 
suppose  there  was  not  one  that  belonged  to  college  but  was  affected 
more  or  less.  There  were  two  members  of  the  Senior  class  who 
were  considered  as  opposers  of  the  good  work  at  first.  Vet  both  of 
these  persons  were  afterwards  preachers  of  the  gospel.  The  work 
continued  about  one  year.  Fifteen,  or  about  the  half  of  my  class, 
was  supposed  to  be  pious  ;  and  in  the  college  about  Fifty,  or  nearly 
one  half  of  the  nhole  number  of  students." 


S78  NOTES. 

The  following  rttcmoii*  of  President  Finley  has  been  extracted 
from  the  "  General  Assembly's  Missionary  Magazine  or  Evangelical 
Intelligencer,"  with  some  corrections  and  additions  by  the  present 
■writer.  'Ihe  article  was  prepared  for  the  Magazine  by  the  late  Eb- 
enezei'  Hazard,  Esq.  of  Philadelphia,  at  that  time  one  of  its  editors  ; 
who  had  been  the  pupil  of  Doctor  Finley,  and  to  whom  his  memory 
was  exceedingly  precious.  The  principal  materials  of  the  memoir  are 
believed  to  have  been  taken  from  the  funeral  sermon  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Treat — If  the  obituary  part  is  long,  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  it  ex- 
hibits a  death  bed  scene,  which  every  reader  may  well  wish  that 
his  own  may  resemble. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Finley  was  bom  in  the  year  1715,  in  the 
county  of  Armagh  in  Ireland,  and  was  one  of  seven  sons  who  were 
all  esteemed  pious;  his  parents  possessed  the  same  character.. 
They  gave  him  such  an  education  as  their  circumstances  permitted, 
and,  in  a  country  school,  at  some  distance  from  home,  he  was  early 
distinguished  for  close  application,  and  uncommon  proficiency  in  his 
studies.  He  left  his  native  country  when  he  had  attained  only  hi.^i 
19th  year,  and  arrived  in  Philadelphia  on  the  28th  of  September 
1734.  It  had  pleased  God  to  awaken  and  convert  him  very  early  in 
life,  and  by  many  and  various  dispensations  of  his  Providence,  to 
prepare  him  for  those  important  stations  which  he  afterwards  filled. 
He  first  heard  a  sermon  when  he  was  six  years  old  ;  and  not  long 
before  his  death  v/as  heard  to  say,  that  he  well  remembered  the 
text  ;  and  that  from  the  day  on  which  he  heard  the  sermon,  he  con- 
ceived strong  desires  to  be  a  rninistcr  of  the  gospel ;  and  according- 
ly, almost  as  soon  as  he  was  capable  of  forming  any  resolutions  res- 
pecting himself,  he  determined  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of 
the  sanctuary.  With  this  view,  he  had  made  considerable  progress 
in  classical  learning  before  he  left  Ireland,  find  he  spent  several 
years,  after  his  arrival  in  America,  in  completing  his  studies, 
during  which  time  he  was  particularly  attentive  to  Theology. — 
After  a  due  course  of  presbyterial  trials,  he  was  licensed  on  the 
5th  day  of  August  1740  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  was  ordained 
on  the  13th  of  October  1742,  by  the  Rev.  Presbytery  of  New^-Bruns- 
wick.  The  first  part  of  his  ministry  was  employed  in  long  and 
fatiguing  itinerations,  and  the  records  of  several  of  the  churches 
which  he  visited  contain  honourable  memorials  of  his  diligence, 
fidelity  and  success.  A  little  before  this  time  a  remarkable  revival 
of  religion  had  commenced,  which  still  continued  :  in  this  Mr.  Fin- 
ley was  a  coadjutor  with  Messrs.  Tennent,  Whitefield,  and  others  ; 
and  his  labours  were  remarkably  blessed  at  Deerfield,  Greenv/ich, 
and  Cape-May,  in  New- Jersey.     He  preached  likewise  to  great  ac- 


NOTES.  379 

ceptance  for  six  months,  as  a  stated  supply  to  a  congregation  in 
Philadelphia,  of  which  Mr.  Gilbert  Tennent  afterwards  had  the 
pastoral  charge.  In  June  1744  he  accejjtcd  a  call  to  Nottingham  in 
Maryland,  on  tlie  border  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  continued  near 
seventeen  years,  faithfully  discharging  the  duties  of  his  sacred  of- 
fice ;  and  had  the  pleasure  to  see  the  work  of  the  Lord  prospering 
in  his  hands.  During  his  residence  at  Nottingham  he  instituted  an 
Academy,  which  acquired  great  reputation,  and  attracted  students 
even  from  distant  ])arts.  Mr.  Finley  was  justly  famed  as  a  scholar, 
and  eminently  qualified  as  a  teacher.  Under  his  instruction  many 
youths  received  the  rudiments  of  an  education  and  correct  moral 
sentiments,  which  have  since  placed  them  amongst  the  most  useful 
and  ornamental  mem])ers  of  society. 

Upon  the  death  of  President  Davies,  the  trustees  of  the  College  of 
New-Jersey  elected  Mr.  Finley  as  his  successor.  Great  were  the 
struggles  of  his  mind  on  this  occasion.  His  love  to  his  people,  and 
theirs  to  him,  was  of  the  most  tender  kind,  having  long  been  nour- 
ished by  the  affectionate  assiduities  of  uninterrupted  friendship  ;  but 
a  prospect  of  more  extensive  usefulness,  and  in  that  way  in  which 
Providence  had  already  so  remarkably  succeeded  his  labours,  in- 
clined him  to  think  it  his  duly  to  remove  :  he  therefore  accepted 
the  invitation  given  him  by  the  trustees,  and  removed  to  Princeton, 
in  July  1761.  Upon  this  event  the  hopes  of  the  well-wishers  to  the 
college  revived,  and  the  clouds  which  had  hung  over  that  nursery  of 
religion  and  learning  began  to  be  dissipated.  Raised  expectations 
were  formed  by  Mr.  Finley's  friends,  and  tliey  were  not  disappoint- 
ed. Under  his  care  the  college  flourished  and  acquired  additional 
reputation,  and  his  own  fame  became  much  more  extensive  :  he  was 
known  in  various  parts  of  Europe,  and  corresponded  with  many  em- 
inent men  there  :  among  them  was  Dr.  Samuel  Chandler  of  London, 
who  in  all  his  letters  evinced  the  most  sincere  esteem  for  this  his 
distant  friend.  Such  was  the  opinion  his  friends  in  Scotland  enter- 
tained of  him  as  a  divine  and  a  scholar  that,  without  his  knowledge, 
they  procured  for  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  from  the 
University  of  Glasgow  :  he  received  his  Diploma  in  1763. 

Unremitted  attention  to  the  duties  of  his  station  very  sensibly  af- 
fected Dr.  Finley's  health,  and  produced  a  fixed  obstruction  in  his 
liver,  which  put  a  period  to  his  life  on  the  ITth  day  of  July  1766,  in 
the  51st  year  of  his  age,  at  Philadelphia,  whither  he  had  gone  for 
medical  assistance. 

When  the  Doctor  first  applied  to  the  physicians  in  Philadelphia, 
he  had  no  apprehension  that  his  dissolution  was  so  near,  as  it  after- 
wards appeared  :     For  he  observed  to  his  friends,  "  if  my  work  i^ 


386  NOTES. 

done  I  am  read}'— I  do  not  desire  to  live  a  day  longer  than  I  ean 
■work  for  God.  But  I  cannot  think  this  is  the  case  as  yet.  God  has 
much  for  me  to  do  before  I  depart  hence." 

About  a  month  before  he  died  his  physicians  informed  him,  that 
his  disease  appeared  to  them  incurable :  upon  which  he  expressed 
entire  resignation  to  the  Divine  will,  and  from  that  time  till  his 
death  he  was  employed  in  setting  his  house  in  order — On  being  told 
by  one  of  his  physicians,  that  according  to  present  appearances,  he 
could  live  but  a  few  days  longer,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and  exclaim- 
ed "  then  welcome  Lord  Jesus." 

On  the  sabbath  preceding  his  death,  his  brother-in-law.  Dr. 
Clarkson,  (one  of  his  physicians)  told  him  that  he  perceived  a  vis- 
ible alteration,  from  which  he  apprehended  his  death  was  at  hand, 
"  Then,  said  he,  may  the  Lord  bring  me  near  himself.  I  have  been 
waiting  with  a  Canaan  hunger  for  the  promised  land.  I  have  of- 
ten wondered  that  God  suffered  me  to  live.  I  have  more  wondered 
that  ever  he  called  me  to  be  a  minister  of  his  word.  He  has  often 
afforded  me  much  strength,  which  though  I  have  abused,  he  has  re- 
turned in  mercy.  O  faithful  are  the  promises  of  God !  O,  that  I 
could  see  him  as  I  have  seen  him  heretofore  in  his  sanctuary !  al- 
though I  have  earnestly  desired  death,  as  the  hireling  pants  for  the 
evening  shade,  yet  will  I  wait  all  the  days  of  my  appointed  time. 
I  have  often  struggled  with  principalities  and  powers,  and  have 
been  brought  almost  to  despair. — Lord,  let  it  suffice."  Here  he  sat 
up  and  closed  his  eyes,  and  prayed  fervently  that  God  would  shew 
him  his  glory  before  he  should  depart  hence  : — that  he  would  ena- 
ble him  to  endure  patiently  to  the  end,  and  particularly  that  he 
might  be  kept  from  dishonouring  the  ministry.  Then  he  resumed  his 
discourse,  and  spoke  as  follows ;  "  I  can  truly  say  that  I  have  loved 
the  service  of  God.  I  know  not  in  what  language  to  speak  of  my 
own  un worthiness. — I  have  been  undutiful.  I  have  honestly  endear 
voured  to  act  for  God,  but  with  much  weakness  and  corruption." 
Here  he  lay  down  and  continued  to  speak  in  broken  sentences  as  fol- 
lows, ^  A  christian's  death  is  the  best  part  of  his  existence.  The 
Lord  has  made  provision  for  the  whole  way  ;  provision  for  the  soul 
and  provision  for  the  body.  O  that  I  could  recollect  sabbath  bles- 
sings. The  Lord  hath  given  me  many  souls  as  crowns  of  my  rejoic- 
ing. Blessed  be  God,  eternal  rest  is  at  hand.  Eternity  is  but  long 
enough  to  enjoy  my  God.  This,  this  has  animated  me  in  my  seve- 
rest studies,  I  w^as  ashamed  to  take  rest  here.  O  that  I  could  be 
^Ued  with  the  fulness  of  God  !  That  fulness  which  fills  Heaven  ! 

Being  asked  if  it  were  in  his  choice  whether  to  live  or  die,  which 
he  would  choose,  he  replied,  *  to  die,  though  I  cannot  but  say,  I  fee^ 


NOl^S.  381 

the  same  strait  that  St.  Paul  did,  that  he  knew  not  which  to. choose  ; 
for  me  to  live  is  Christ,  but  to  die  is  great  gain :  but  should  God  by 
a.  miracle  prolong  my  life,  1  will  still  continue  to  servo  him.  His 
service  has  ever  been  sweet  to  mc.  1  have  loved  it  nuirh.  1  have 
tried  my  master's  yoke  and  will  never  shrink  my  neck  from  it.  His 
yoke  is  easy  and  his  burden  light.'  He  then  put  his  hand  to  his  mouth 
and  pulling  out  a  loose  tooth,  said,  '  here  is  one  of  the  pins  of  the 
tabernacle  ;  the  whole  frame  will  soon  fall  to  pieces.'  Vou  are  more 
cheerful  and  vigorous,  sir,  said  one  of  the  company  ;  '  Yes,  he  replied, 
1  rise  or  fall,  as  eternal  rest  seems  nearer  or  farther  off.'  It  being 
observed  to  him  that  he  always  used  tlie  expression,  dear  Lord,  in 
his  prayers,  he  answered,  "  O  !  he  is  very  dear — \  cry  precious  in- 
deed ! — How  pretty  it  is  for  a  minister  to  die  on  the  sabbath  !  I  ex- 
pect to  spend  the  remaining  i)art  of  this  sabbath  iu  heaven !  One  of 
the  company  said  to  him,  you  will  soon  be  joined  to  a  blessed  society: 
you  will  forever  hold  converse  with  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob,  with 
the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect,  witii  old  friends,  and  many  old 
fashioned  people.  '  Yes  sir,'  he  replied  with  a  smile,  '  but  tliey  are 
a  most  polite  people  now.' — He  exjjressed  great  gratitude  to  friends 
around  him,  and  said,  '  may  the  Lord  repay  you  for  \our  tenderness 
to  me ;  may  he  bless  you  abundantly,  not  only  witli  temporal,  but 
with  spiritual  blessings."  Turning  to  his  wife,  he  said,  *'  I  expect,  my 
dear,  too  see  you  shortly  in  glor) .'  Then  addressing  himself  to  the 
whole  company,  he  said,"  O  that  each  of  you  may  experience  what, 
blessed  be  God,  1  do,  when  you  come  to  die  ;  may  you  have  the 
pleasure  in  a  dying  hour,  that  with  faith  and  patience,  zeal  and  sin- 
cerity, you  have  endeavoured  to  serve  the  Lord,  that  each  of  \  ou 
may  be  impressed,  as  I  have  been,  with  God's  Avord  ;  looking  upoij 
it  as  substantial,  and  not  only  fearing,  but  being  unwilling  to  offend 
against  it.  "  Upon  seeing  a  member  of  the  second  Presbyterian 
church  in  Philadelphia,  he  said"  I  have  often  preached  and  prayed 
among  you,  my  dear  sir,  and  the  doctrines  1  preached  to  you  are 
now  my  support,  and  blessed  be  God,  they  are  without  a  flaw.  May 
the  Lord  biess  and  preser\e  your  church,  lie  desigr.s  good  for  it  yet 
I  ti-ust.'  To  a  person  from  Princeton,  he  said,  "  give  my  love  to  the 
people  at  Princeton,  and  tell  tlicm  that  1  am  going  to  die,  and  that  I 
am  not  afraid  to  die." — He  would  sometimes  cry  out, '  the  Lord  Jesu-^^, 
take  care  of  his  cause  in  the  world.' 

L"^pon  awaking  the  next  morning,  he  exclaimed,  '  O  !  what  a  dis- 
api)ohitment  I  have  met  with  ! — 1  expected  this  mornhjg  to  hare 
been  in  heaven!' — (ireat  weakness  prevented  his  speaking  umch  this 
day,  but  what  he  did  say  was  the  langui.ge  of  triumph. 

On  the  following  morning,  with  a  pleasinjj  smiie  oa  hiscounte- 


SS2  NOTES. 

nance,  and  with  a  strong  voice,  he  cried  out,  *  O  I  shall  triumpk 
over  every  foe  I  The  Lord  hath  given  me  the  victory!  I  exult!  I 
triumph  !  O  that  I  could  see  untainted  purity  !  Now  I  know  that  it 
is  impossible  that  faith  should  not  triumph  over  earth  and  hell :  I 
think  I  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  die ;  yet,  perhaps  I  have :  Lord 
shew  me  my  task  !'  After  expi*essing  some  fears  lest  he  did  not  en- 
dea^^ur  to  preserve  his  remaining  life,  through  eagerness  to  depart, 
and  being  told  that  he  did  nothing  inconsistent  with  self-preserva- 
tion, he  said,  '  Lord  Jesus,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit,  I  do 
it  with  confidence  ; — I  do  it  with  full  assurance.  I  know  thou  wilt 
*  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  to  thee.  I  have  been  dreaming 
too  fast  of  the  time  of  my  departure,  for  I  find  it  does  not  come  ;  but 
the  Lord  is  faithful,  and  will  not  tarry  beyond  his  appointed  time." 

When  one  who  attended  him,  told  him  tliat  his  pulse  grew  weak- 
er, he  cried  out,  '  that  is  well.' 

In  the  afternoon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spencer  called  to  see  him,  and  told 
liim  "  I  have  come,  dear  sir,  to  see  you  confirm,  by  facts,  the  gospel 
you  have  been  preaching  ;  pray  how  do  you  feel  ?"  to  which  he  re- 
plied, "  full  of  triumph  !  I  triumph  through  Christ !  Nothing  clips 
my  wings  but  the  thoughts  of  my  dissolution  being  prolonged.  O 
that  it  were  to-night !  My  very  soul  thirsts  for  eternal  rest.'*  Mr. 
Spencer  asked  him  what  he  saw  in  eternity  to  excite  such  vehement 
desires  in  his  soul  ^  he  said,  "  I  see  the  eternal  love  and  goodness  of 
God  : — I  see  the  fulness  of  the  Mediator : — I  see  the  love  of  Jesus :— • 
O  !  to  be  dissolved  and  be  with  him  !  I  long  to  be  clothed  with  the 
complete  righteousness  of  Christ."  He  then  desired  Mr.  Spencer 
to  pray  with  him  before  they  parted,  and  told  him,  "  I  have  gained 
the  victory  over  the  devil ;  pray  to  God  to  preserve  me  from  evil, 
to  keep  me  from  dishonouring  his  great  name  in  this  critical  hour, 
and  to  support  me  with  his  presence  in  my  passage  through  the  val- 
ley of  the  shadow  of  death." 

He  spent  the  remaining  part  of  the  evening  in  bidding  farewell  to, 
and  blessing  his  friends,  and  exhorting  such  of  his  children  as  were 
with  him.  He  would  frequently  cry  out,  "  why  move  the  tardy 
hours  so  slow .''" 

The  next  day,  July  16,  terminated  his  conflict.  His  speech  failed 
him  :  although  he  made  many  eflbrts  to  speak,  he  could  seldom  do 
it  so  distinctly  as  to  be  understood.  A  friend  desired  him  to  give 
some  token  whereby  his  friends  might  know  whether  he  still  con- 
tinued to  triumph  ;  whereupon  he  lifted  up  his  hand  and  said,  *'  yes.'* 
In  the  afternoon  he  spoke  several  sentences,  but  little  could  be  col- 
lected from  them.  Some  of  the  last  words  he  spoke  concerning  him- 
self were,  **  after  one  or  two  engagements  more,  the  conflict  will  be 


NOTES.  S9$ 

over."  In  the  evening,  about  9  o'clock,  he  fell  into  a  sound  sleep, 
and  appeared  to  be  much  more  free  from  pain  than  he  had  been  for 
many  days  before.  He  continued  to  sleep  without  clKinj^ini;  his  po- 
sition, till  about  1  o'clock,  -when  he  expired  without  a  siv;h  or'u 
groan. 

During  his  whole  sickness,  he  was  not  heard  to  utter  a  repining 
word ;  and  in  all  the  farcwt-Us  he  bid  his  friends  and  relations,  he 
was  never  seen  to  shed  a  single  tear,  or  exhibit  any  mark  of  sorrow. 

He  was  interred  in  the  second  Presbyterian  church  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia,  adjoining  his  once  intimate  friend,  the  Rev.  Gilbert 
Tennent.  The  excessive  heat  prevented  his  being  removed  to 
Princeton,  where  the  dust  of  his  predecessors  lay  ;  but  many  of  thf- 
btudents  came  from  thence  to  pay  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
remains  of  liim,  whom  living  they  admired  and  loved.  Eight  of 
them  carried  the  corpse  to  the  grave,  and  a  sermon  suited  to  the 
occasion  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Treat,  of  Abingdon. 

Dr.  Finley  was  remarkable  for,  sweetness  of  temper  and  politeness 
of  behaviour.  He  was  given  to  hospitality  ;  chantable  without  os- 
tentation ;  exemplary  in  the  discharge  of  all  relative  duties ;  and  in 
all  things  showing  himself  a  patron  of  good  works.  As  a  divine  lie 
was  a  Calvinist  in  sentiment.  His  sermons  were  not  hasty  produc- 
tions ;  but  filled  with  good  sense  and  well  digested  sentiment ;  ex- 
pressed in  language  pleasing  to  men  of  science,  yet  perfectly  intelli- 
gible by  the  illiterate.  They  were  calculated  to  inform  the  igno- 
rant, to  alarm  the  careless  and  secure,  and  to  edify  and  comfort  the 
faithful. 

He  published  a  sermon  on  Matt.  XH.  28.  entitled,  Christ  trium- 
fihing  and  Satan  raging;  preached  at  Nottmgham,  January  20th, 
1741 ;  a  refutation  of  Mr.  Thomson's  sermon  on  the  doctrine  of  con- 
victions, 1743  ;  a  charitable  plea  for  the  speechless,  in  answer  to 
Abel  Morgan's  anti-pxdo-rantism,  1747  ;  a  vindication  of  the  pre- 
ceding, 1748  ;  a  sermon  at  the  ordination  of  the  Reverend  John 
Rodgers,  at  St.  George's,  in  the  county  of  New-Castle,  in  Delawan.-, 
March  16th,  1749  ;  a  sermon  on  the  de&th  of  President  Davies,  pre- 
fixed to  his  works. 

Dr.  Finley  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Sarah 
Hall,  a  lady  of  an  amiable  character,  who  was  truly  a  heli)-mL'et  for 
him.  By  her  he  had  eight  children — Siic  died  in  the  year  1760. 
The  year  following  he  married  Miss  Ann  Clarkson,  daughter  of 
Mr.  Matthew  Clarkson,  who  had  been  an  eminent  meixhant  in  thf* 
city  of  New-York,  and  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  David  Clarkson, 
B.  D.  who  was  ejected  for  non-conformity  in  England.  By  his  last 
wife,  Dr.  Finley  had  no  issue.     She   survi\ed  her  husband  more 


%^ 


S84  NOTES. 

than  one  and  forty  years ;  and  for  more  than  half  that  period,  be- 
longed to  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  present  writer,  who  attended 
her  on  her  death  bed,  in  January  1808,  and  witnessed  the  peaceful 
close  of  a  life  of  eminent  christian  piety.  She  was  entirely  blind 
for  a  number  of  years  before  her  death  ;  but  bore  her  affliction  with 
cheerful  patience,  and  in  all  her  deportment  exhibited  a  spirit 
of  meekness,  gentleness  and  kindness,  rarely  witnessed. 

Doctor  Ebenezer  Finley,  already  mentioned,  was  graduated  in  this 
college,  in  the  year  1772  ;  and  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  a  physi- 
cian of  reputation  in  Charleston,  South- C arolina  ;  and  a  man  distin- 
guished for  his  piety  and  moral  worth.  He  was  the  last  surviving 
child  of  President  Finley  ;  and  has  himself  left  several  children,  one 
of  whom  was  graduated  with  great  reputation  in  this  college,  in  1820. 
A  daughter — the  writer  believes  the  only  daughter — of  President 
Finley,  was  married  to  Samuel  Breeze,  Esq.  of  New- Jersey.  She  left 
an  onlv  daughter  still  living — the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Doctor  Jedediah 
Morse,  well  known  to  the  publick  by  many  valuable  publications. 

A  Tomb  Stone  with  an  English  inscription  Avas  placed  over  the 
grave  of  President  Finley,  in  Philadelphia — At  Princeton  the  trus- 
tees of  the  college  have  erected  a  Cenotaph  to  his  memory,  inscribed 
as  follows — 

Memorise  Sacrum 
Reverendi  Samuelis  Finley,  S.  T.  D. 
Collegii  Neo-Cjesariensis 
PrjEsidis. 
Armaches  in  Hibernia  natus,  A.  D.  MDCCXV. 
In  Americam  migravit.  Anno  MDCCXXXIV. 
Sacris  ordinibus  initiatus  est.  Anno  MDCCXLIII, 
apud  Novum  Brunsvicum 
Neo-C^esariensium. 
Ecclesi^e  Nottinghami,  Pennsylvaniensium, 
Munus  pastorale  suscepit,  XIVo  Kal.  Jul.  MDCCXLIV  ; 
Ibique,  Academic  celeberrimx 
diu  prxfuit. 
Designatus  Proeses  Collegii  Neo-Ccesariensis, 
Officium  inivit,  id.  Jul.  iNIDCCLXI. 
Tandem,  dilectus,  veneratus. 

Omnibus  flendus, 

Morti  occubuit  Philadelphiae, 

XVo  Kal,  Sextilis,  A.  D.  MDCCLXVL 

Artibus  litcrisque  excultus, 

Vi'x  ca;teris  prxcipuc  enituit 


NOTES.  385 

Rerum  divinarum  scientia. 

Studio  divinx  glorix  flagrans, 

summis  opibus 

Ad  veram  Religionem  promovcndam, 

ct  in  concionibus, 

et  in  scrmonc  ftxTniliari, 

Opcram  semper  navabat. 

Patientia,  modestia,  mansuetudo 

miranda, 
animo  moribusque  enituerunt. 
Ob  charitatem,  obscrvantiam,  vigilantiam, 
crga  juvcncs  fidei  sux  mandates 
fuit 
insignissimus  ; 
Moribus  ingcnuis,  pietate  sincera, 
Vixit  omnibus  dilectus, 
Moriens  triumphavit. 

The  interval  between  the  death  of  Doctor  Finley  and  the  ac- 
cession of  Doctor  WiTHERSPOON — From  July  ITth,  1766,  to  August 
13th,  1768. 

The  trustees  of  tlie  college  did  not,  as  we  have  seen,  proceed  to 
the  election  of  a  President  at  their  first  meeting,  September  24th 
1766,  after  the  death  of  Doctor  Finley.  But  they  then  appointed  a 
meeting  to  be  held,  expressly  for  this  purpose,  on  the  19th  of  No- 
vember following.  From  this,  and  several  subsequent  meetings  of 
the  board,  such  extracts  will  be  made,  and  such  remarks  subjoined, 
as  may  serve  to  give  a  just  view  of  the  state  of  the  institution,  during 
the  period  now  under  consideration. 

"  Wednesday  the  nineteenth  day  of  Nov.  A.  D.  1766. 

It  having  pleased  a  holy  and  wise  God  to  remove  by  death  the 
late  Reverend  and  worthy  Dr.  Samuel  Finley  from  the  President- 
ship of  the  college,  the  board  proceeded  to  the  choice  of  another  to 
succeed  him  in  that  Office  ;  when,  after  mature  deliberation,  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Wither  spoon,  of  Paisley  in  Scotland,  was  duly 
elected  as  the  Charter  directs,  nemine  contradicente :  and  it  is  or- 
dered that  a  copy  of  this  minute  be  enclosed  and  transmitted  to  the 
said  Dr.  Witherspoon,  in  a  letter,  to  be  signed  by  the  President, 
from  this  board,  praying  his  acceptance  of  the  said  office.  And  it  is 
further  ordered,  that  a  letter,  in  like  manner,  be  transmitted  to 
Richard  Stockton,  Esq.  one  of  the  members  of  this  board,  now  in 
London,  enclosing  the  above  to  his  care  ;  and  requesting  his  perso- 
nal application  to  Dr.  Witherspoon,  to  solicit  his  acceptance,  and  in- 

D  r> 


386  NOTE?. 

forming  that  this  board  will  defray  his,  the  said  Mr.  Stockton's  ex- 
penses, in  his  journey  to  Scotland  for  the  said  purpose  ;  and  also, 
that  another  letter,  to  be  signed  in  like  manner,  be  transmitted  to 
Mr.  Dennys  De  Berdt,  Merchani  in  London,  enclosing  a  duplicate 
of  the  letter  to  Dr.  Witherspoon,  in  case  the  said  Mr.  Stockton 
should  not  happen  to  be  in  Lon^lon,  requesting  the  said  Mr.  De  Berdt 
to  forward  the  same  ;  -""Cl  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  use  his  influ- 
ence and  interest  for  the  same  purpose.  Ordered  that  Messrs. 
Spencer,  Redman  and  Shippen,  do  prepare  draughts  of  said  letters, 
to  be  laid  before  this  board  to-morrow.  Resolved — that  in  case  of  Dr. 
Witherspoon's  acceptance  of  the  Presidentship  of  this  College,  the 
sum  of  One  Hundred  Guineas  be  allowed  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
his  removal  and  voyage  ;  and  that  his  salary  commence  on  the  day 
of  his  arrival  in  North-America. 

Messrs.  George  Bryan,  John  Johnson,  William  Allison,  James 
Meas,  and  Samuel  Purviance,  from  Philadelphia,  waited  upon  the 
board,  and  presented  a  petition  signed  by  some  gentlemen  of  Lewis- 
town,  in  Pennsylvania  ;  and  also  a  letter  signed  by  twenty-six  gen- 
tlemen of  Philadelphia,  requesting  and  recommending,  among  other 
things,  the  establishment  of  several  Professorships  in  the  college. 

Ordered,  that  the  said  papers  do  lie  on  the  table,  for  farther  ma- 
ture consideration." 

In  order  to  understand  fully  the  nature  of  a  negociation  of  which 
this  minute  gives  the  first  intimation,  but  which  will  afterwards  be 
found  to  have  occupied  the  most  serious  attention  of  the  board,  it 
•will  be  necessary  to  recollect  what  has  already  been  said,  in  regard 
to  the  rival  Synods  of  New- York  and  Philadelphia  ;  and  that  the 
college  was  the  offspring  and  favourite  child  of  the  former  of  these 
bodies.  It  has  been  cursorily  mentioned  that  the  schism  was  healed 
in  the  year  1757,  and  that  the  two  Synods  were  again  united.  This 
notwithstanding,  much  of  the  spirit  which  had  produced  the  sepa- 
ration still  remained  ;  and  indeed  was  not  extinct  till  many  year.s 
after  this  period.  The  cause  and  peculiarities  of  the  Synod  of  Phil- 
adelphia had  been  denominated  the  old  side^  and  those  of  the  New- 
York  Synod,  the  neiv  side  ;  and  these  Shibboleths  of  party  remained 
long  after  the  formal  union  of  the  Synods.  It  is  hoped  that  none  of 
the  acrimony  with  which  they  were  once  used  any  longer  exists  ; 
but  they  still  serve  as  convenient  designations  of  parties  which  once 
divided  the  Presbyterian  church. 

The  college  of  New-Jers?y,  notwithstanding  the  adverse  circum- 
stances which  it  experienced  in  the  deaths  of  four  Presidents  in 
less  than  nine  years,  had,  on  the  whole,  been  advancing  in  reputation 
ever  since  its  establishment ;    and  under  Doctor  Finley  had  proba-. 


NOTES.  38r 

bly  risen  higher  than  at  any  proceeding  period.  At  his  death  it 
was  unquestionably  the  most  rcputaiile  literary  institution  of  which 
the  Presbyterians  could  boast.  This  circumstance,  it  is  believ- 
ed, induced  the  old  side  party  to  seek,  an  alliance  with  it :  and 
if  a  cordial  alliance  could  have  been  formed,  it  would,  without 
doubt,  have  been  an  event  highly  favourable  for  the  college, 
and  for  the  Presbyterian  church  at  large.  That  some  of  the 
leading  men  in  each  party  hoped  that  this  might  be  effected, 
and  honestly  laboured  to  bring  it  about,  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe.  But  there  was  still  too  much  of  party  views  and  feelings 
to  admit  of  such  an  issue.  The  whole  transaction  bears  marks  of 
jealous  caution  and  diplomatick  manai^ement,  on  both  sides.  The 
college  being  now  without  a  President,  and  known  to  be  in  great 
want  of  funds,  tlie  opportunity  was  supposed  to  be  favourable  for 
obtaining  a  participation,  by  the  old  side  party,  in  the  wliole  govern- 
ment and  instruction  of  the  institution,  in  consideration  of  the  pecuni- 
ary aid  which  that  party  would  engage  to  afford.  But  the  board  of 
trustees  proceeded,  as  wc  have  seen,  to  elect  a  President,  even  be- 
fore they  opened  a  negociation  ;  and  with  a  design,  it  is  believed,  to 
foreclose  all  interference  or  propositions,  in  regard  to  the  choice  of 
that  officer.  On  the  other  hand,  such  representations  were  speedily 
made  in  Scotland  of  the  state  of  the  college,  as  were  calculated  to 
induce  Dr.  Witherspoon  to  refuse  the  Prcfsidency  ;  and  which  ac- 
tually had  that  effect,  till  his  misapprehensions  were  removed  by  an 
agent  of  the  board.  The  writer  has  in  his  hands  the  unquestionable 
evidence  of  this  fact,  although  it  does  not  appear  in  the  records  of 
the  trustees. 

"  November  20th,  9  o'clock,  A.  M. 

Messrs.  Spencer,  Redman  and  Shippen,  pursuant  to  an  order  of 
yesterday,  produced  draughts  of  Letters  to  Dr.  Witherspoon,  Rich- 
ard Stockton,  Esq.  and  Mr.  Dennys  De  Berdt,  which  were  read  and 
approved. 

Ordered,  That  the  said  letters  be  transcribed  and  signed  by  the 
President  of  this  board,  who  is  requested  to  despatch  the  same  by 
the  first  vessel  bound  from  New- York  to  London. 

Mr.  Samuel  Breeze,  one  of  the  Executors  of  the  estate  of  Dr.  Fin- 
ley  deceased,  requesting  an  order  of  this  board  upon  the  treasurer, 
for  the  payment  of  the  salary  which  became  due  to  the  said  Dr.  Fin- 
ley  at  the  time  of  his  death,  the  clerk  is  directed  immediately  to 
make  out  and  sign  an  order  en  Mr.  Sergeant,  for  the  payment  of 
whatever  sum  remained  due  to  Dr.  Finley,  as  his  salary,  at  the  time 
of  his  death ;  together  with  the  interest  of  the  same  froni  the  day 
of  his  decease,  and  that  he  take  a  discharge  for  the  sanae. 


588  NOTES. 

A  letter  was  delivered  into  this  board,  signed  by  several  gentlemen 
of  Baltimore,  in  Maryland,  on  the  subject-matter  of  those  presented 
yesterday  from  Lewis-town  and  Philadelphia. 

Ordered,  that  the  said  letter  do  lie  with  the  others  on  the  table, 
for  farther  consideration. 

Resolved,  that  Messrs.  Woodruff,  Tennent,  Spencer  and  Rodgers, 
be  a  committee,  forthwith  to  wait  upon  the  gentlemen  from  Phila- 
delphia, who  have  signified  it  to  be  their  desire  to  meet  a  committee 
of  this  board,  in  order  to  a  free  conference  on  the  subject  matter  of 
the  sundry  letters,  &c.  which  have  been  delivered  in  by  them  :  and 
that  the  said  committee  do  report  the  result  of  the  said  conference  to 
this  board. 

The  board  taking  into  consideration  the  necessity  of  appointing  a 
President  of  this  college,  firo  tempore^  while  destitute  of  a  fixed 
head,  for  the  better  care  and  government  of  the  same,  requested  the 
Rev.  Wm.  Tennent,  to  take  upon  himself  the  charge  and  burden  of 
that  office,  as  he  had  been  pleased  to  do  heretofore,  until  the  next 
meeting  of  the  truslees,  The  said  Mr.  Tennent,  being  pleased  to 
signify  his  acquiescence,  v/as  accordingly  appointed  President  pro 
tempore,  and  qualified  as  the  charter  directs. 

The  committee  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  gentlemen  from  Phila- 
delphia, being  returned,  reported,  that  they  have  had  a  full  and  free 
conference  together  upon  the  subject  matter  of  the  petitions  and  let- 
ters presented  by  those  gentlemen.  That  the  said  gentlemen  observ-* 
cd,  that  the  proposals  made  to  the  trustees,  being  upon  the  footing 
that  the  President's  cha>r  was  vacant,  they  were  disconcerted  in 
their  general  plan,  by  the  election  of  Dr.  Witherspoon  to  the  Presi- 
dentship, before  their  proposals  were  presented — that  the  said  plan 
being  thereby  altered,  they  were  not  authorized  to  determine  abso- 
lutely, what  would  be  done  hereafter  by  their  constituents,  respect- 
ing the  general  object  they  had  in  view — that  nevertheless  they  were 
truly  desirous  that  some  eifectual  method  might  be  taken  to  com- 
plete the  proposed  design  : — That  a  proposal  was  made  by  the  said 
committee,  viz.  that  on  supposition  of  the  nomination  of  two  gentle- 
men for  professorships,  to  wit.=^  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Blair  and  M'Dow- 
ell,  on  condition  that  money  could  be  raised  by  the  friends  of  this 
institution  to  support  them,  whether  their  constituents  would  be  sa- 
tisfied, and  they  would  undertake  to  promote  a  subscription  for  their 
support,  to  which  the  said  gentlemen  replied,  that,  however  desi- 

♦  These  gentlemen,  Mr.  Blair  of  the  new  side  and  Mr.  M'Dowell  of  the  old  side 
party,  were  both  of  high  standing  in  the  publick  estimation,  and  of  unquestionable 
excellence  of  character.  Mr.  Blair  was  afterwards  i)rofessor  of  Divinity  in  the 
college. 


Tous  they  were  to  accomplish  so  excellent  a  desi^,  they  would  not 
at  present  engaj^c  for  the  future  conduct  of  their  constituents. 

The  board  taking  into  mature  consideration  the  above  report, 
came  to  the  following  resolution — Whereas  it  is  an  object  of  their 
greatest  concern,  that  union  and  the  strictest  harmony  among  all  the 
friends  and  patrons  of  religion  and  sound  literature  miglit  be  promo- 
ted by  every  proper  method,  and  that  this  institution  may  have  eve- 
ry possible  advantage  of  increasing  its  reputation,  and  the  cause  of 
learning:  and  as  there  appears  reason  to  expect,  great  and  hajipy 
consequences  both  to  the  interest  of  religion  and  of  this  seminary, 
from  putting  into  execution  the  general  design  of  the  proposals  made 
— they  will  gladly  do  every  thing  in  their  powcV  to  accomplish  the 
;iaid  end :  and  accordingly  declare  themselves  gfeatly  desirous  that 
a  sufficieacy  of  monies  by  subscription,  or  otherwise,  might  be  ob- 
tained to  accomplish  this  noble  design  ;  and  are  cheerfully  willing 
to  join  in  any  particular  method  that  can  be  devised  for  raising  the 
necessary  sums.  For  though  this  board  would  gladly  proceed  to  the 
election  of  professors,  without  delay,  were  their  funds  sufficient  to 
support  such  an  additional  expense  ;  yet  they  judge  it  by  no  means 
expedient  to  take  that  step  before  they  have  a  certain  medium  for 
their  support." 

The  trustees  having  elected  a  President  without  con- 
sulting with  those  who  came  to  negotiate  on  that,  as  well  as 
on  other  jjoints,  proposed  to  choose  two  professors,  one  from 
each  party,  and  hoi)ed  by  this  arrangement  to  satisfy  the  gen- 
tlemen with  whom  they  were  in  treaty.  The  proposed  measure 
however  was  not  satisfactory.  To  have  a  voice  and  influence  in  the 
choice  of  a  President,  as  well  as  other  officers,  was  manifestly  a 
causa  sine  qua  tioti  with  the  old  side  party,  in  this  whole  concern. 
The  historian  is  not  prepared,  either  to  censure  them  for  maintain- 
ing this  point,  or  to  blame  the  other  side  for  not  conceding  it.  He 
•will  only  remark,  that  now  it  is  paljjable,  although  it  might  not  t/ien 
have  been  apparent,  that  between  parties  so  jealous  of  each  other, 
no  cordial  union  could  take  place,  and  therefore  that  it  was  well 
for  the  institution  that  all  these  attempts  proved  abortive.  Wq 
shall  see,  however,  that  the  idea  of  uniting  the  two  parties,  in  sup- 
port of  the  college,  was  not  easily  or  readily  relinquished. 

"Whereas  it  appears  that  the  grammar  school  now  kept  in  the 
college  by  Mr.  Avery  is  likely  to  become  chargeable  to  the  college 
funds — Resolved,  that  this  board  will  no  longer  support  the  same, 
and  do  accordingly  dismiss  the  said  Mr.  Avery  from  their  service; 
but  that  nevertheless  the  said  Avery  may,  if  he  thinks  it  expedient, 
continue  to  keep  the  school  in  the  college  on  his  own  proper  account 
and  risque. 


39©  NOTCS. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New- Jersey,  at 
Nassau  Hall,  on  Wednesday  the  30th  day  of  September,  Anno 
Domini  17&7.  *         #         * 

October  1,  9  o'clock,  A.  M. 

Met  according  to  adjournment.  Mr.  S.  Smith  communicated  a 
letter  to  this  board  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Witherspoon,  wherein 
that  gentleman  is  pleased  to  decline  an  acceptance  of  the  President- 
ship of  this  college,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  November  last.'* 

This  refusal  of  Doctor  Witherspoon  to  accept  his  first  appoint- 
ment as  President  of  the  college,  was  not  occasioned  by  the  discoura- 
ging accounts  which  had  been  transmitted  to  Scotland  in  relation  to 
the  state  of  the  institution.  His  unfavourable  impressions  in  that 
respect,  which  at  first  were  strong,  had  been  entirely  removed.  The 
reluctance  of  Mrs.  Witherspoon  to  leave  her  native  country  was 
the  chief,  if  not  the  sole  cause  of  his  refusal,  at  this  time.  She  was 
afterwards  perfectly  reconciled  to  the  idea  of  his  removal;  and  with 
the  affection  and  piety  for  which  she  was  eminently  distinguished, 
cheerfully  accompanied  her  husband  to  a  foreign  country,  with  no 
expectation  of  ever  returning  to  "  the  land  of  her  father's  sepul- 
chres." 

Mr.  Stockton*  acquainted  the  board,  that  there  were  several 
gentlemen  from  Philadelphia  now  in  town, — viz.  Messrs.  George 
Bryan,  William  Allison,  John  Chevalier,  John  Boyd  and  John  Wal- 
lace, who  had  informed  him,  that  they  had  some  things  to  offer  to 
this  corporation,  and  Avere  desirous  of  being  heard.  Mr.  Stockton 
■was  accordingly  requested  immediately  to  wait  upon  those  gentle- 
men, and  inform  them  that  the  trustees  were  now  ready  to  hear 
them. 

The  Philadelphia  gentlemen,  being  introduced  by  Mr.  Stockton, 
begged  leave  to  remind  the  trustees,  that  they  had  the  last  year 
presented  sundry  papers  and  letters,  containing  proposals  relative  to 
the  establishment  of  a  faculty  in  the  college  ;  that  their  constituents 
were  still  very  desirous  that  the  general  plan  should  be  carried  into 
execution,  if  the  circumstances  of  the  college  would  possibly  admit 
of  it ;  and  prayed  that  the  same  might  be  reconsidered.  The  said 
gentlemen  were  then  assured,  that  this  board  would  come  to  some 
determination  thereon,  as  soon  as  possible. 

Ordered,  That  the  several  letters  and  proposals  above  mentioned 
be  again  read  and  maturely  considered  ;  which  were  r^ad  and  consici* 
ered  accordingly. 

*  This  gentleman  had  now  returned  to  the  Ijoard,  after  an  absence  ia  Britaio* 
of  about  ?  year, 


NOTES.  391 

Resolved,  That  Messrs.  Stockton,  Ogdcn  and  Shippen,  be  a 
committee  to  confer  more  fully  with  those  gentlemen  on  the  subject- 
matter  of  the  said  proposals. 

Mr.  Halsey,  eldest  tutor  of  this  college,  now  thought  fit  to  re* 
sign  his  office  ;  and  requesting  testimonials  in  his  favour  from  the 
trustees — it  is  ordered  that  an  ample  certificate  be  made  out,  to  be 
signed  by  the  clerk,  in  the  name  of  this  board,  and  sealed  with  the 
corporation  seal,  certifying  the  said  Mr.  Halsey's  faithful  services 
and  good  conduct,  during  his  tutorship  in  the  college,  with  recom- 
mendation of  him  as  a  gentleman  of  genius,  learning  and  real  merit. 

Mr.  Will.  Tenncnt  produced  draughts  of  sundry  laws  for  the  bet- 
ter regulation  and  order  of  the  college,  which  were  read,  considered 
and  amended,  and  the  question  being  put  whether  the  same  do  pass, 
it  was  unanimously  voted  in  the  affirmative. 

Voted,  That  Mr.  James  Thompson  one  of  the  tutors  of  this  col- 
lege be  the  present  inspector  of  the  rooms,  and  that  he  be  allowed 
the  sum  of  five  pounds  per  annum  for  his  trouble  in  executing  that 
office  ;  and  that,  upon  his  resignation  or  removal,  tlie  President, 
for  the  time  being,  be  empowered  to  nominate  and  appoint  some 
©ther  fit  person  to  succeed  in  the  said  office." 

This  is  the  first  appointment,  on  record,  of  an  inspector  of  the  col- 
lege. Tlie  office  has  been  found  useful,  and  has  been  continued 
ever  since. 

"  Messrs.  Woodruff  and  Ogden,  who  were  appointed  this  morning 
to  examine  into  the  general  state  of  the  College  funds,  now  repoi-t 
that  they  find  the  sum  total  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  in  bonds, 
notes,  &:c.  to  amount  to  the  sum  of  £2815  3  1 — of  which,  they  find 
©nly  £950,  or  thereabouts,  to  be  at  present  under  actual  improve- 
Dient  at  interest. 

The  committee  appointed  to  meet  and  confer  with  the  Philadel- 
phia delegates,  being  returned,  report,  that  they  find  these  gentle- 
men and  their  constituents  still  heartily  desirous  of  concurring  with 
the  trustees  of  this  college  in  the  establishment  and  support  of  a 
faculty,  and  promising  to  unite  their  utmost  endeavours  to  raise 
the  necessary  funds  to  carry  the  same  into  speedy  execution — that 
the  said  gentlemen  being  asked  by  the  committee,  whether  the  ap- 
pointment of  all,  or  any  of  the  particular  persons,  to  professorships, 
in  their  proposals  named  and  recommended,  was  intended  as  a  terra 
of  their  acceeding  to  and  assisting  in  the  establishment  proposed, 
replied,  that  it  wus  not  the  intention  to  make  the  appointment  of 
any  of  the  particular  persons  named  by  their  constituents,  a  term  of 
the  proposed  union  ;  but  that  any  other  gentlemen  who  might  be 
deemed  qualified  for  their  offices,  and  indiscriminately  chosen  with- 


S92  NOTES. 

out  regard  to  party  distinction,  would  be  as  acceptable  to  them— - 
The  board,  taking  the  subject  into  mature  consideration,  were  unani- 
mously of  opinion,  that  the  constitution  of  a  faculty,  to  consist  of  well 
qualified  professors  in  the  several  branches  of  academical  science, 
to  be  chosen  without  regard  to  any  little  party  differences,  would 
greatly  subsei'A^e  the  interest  of  religion  and  learning  in  this  semi- 
nary ;  and  would  tend  to  the  better  and  more  perfect  instruction  and 
government  in  the  same  ;  and  it  was  accordingly  resolved,  that  in 
pursuance  of  the  said  plan,  the  choice  of  a  faculty,  to  consist  of  pro- 
fessors in  some  of  the  most  essential  parts  of  literature,  be  entered 
upon  to-morrow  morning. 

October  2d,  9  o'clock,  A.  M.  met  according  to  adjournment,  and 
present  as  yesterday.  The  trustees  having  now  thought  proper, 
pursuant  to  their  resolution  of  yesterday,  to  enter  upon  the  choice 
of  a  Faculty,  to  consist  of  Professors  in  the  most  necessary  branches 
of  education  in  the  college,  did,  in  the  first  place,  proceed  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  Professor  of  Divinity  and  Moral  Philosophy ;  when, 
after  mature  deliberation,  the  Reverend  Mr.  John  Blair,  of  Fog's 
Manor  in  Pennsylvania,  and  one  of  the  members  of  this  board,  was 
duly  chosen  to  that  office.     Adjourned  till  3  o'clock,  P.  M. 

The  trustees  now  proceeded  to  the  choice  of  a  Professor  of  Math- 
ematicks  and  natural  Philosophy,  when  Dr.  Hugh  Williamson,  of 
Philadelphia,  was  duly  elected  to  that  office ;  and  Mr.  Jonathan  Ed- 
wards, now  a  tutor  in  this  college,  was  also  duly  chosen  to  the  Pro- 
fessorship of  Languages  and  Logick. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Witherspoon,  having  thought  fit  to  decline  the 
invitation  of  this  board  to  the  Presidentship  of  the  college,  the  trus- 
tees proceeded  to  the  choice  of  a  President  to  succeed  the  late  rev- 
erend and  worthy  Dr.  Finley,  deceased.  After  the  maturest  delibe- 
ration, tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Blair,  of  Boston,  in  New-England, 
was  duly  elected  President  of  this  college,  and  also  Professor  of  Rhet- 
orick  and  Metaphysicks. 

Voted,  that  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  proclamation,  be  allow- 
ed to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wni.  Tennent,  in  consideration  of  his  services  to 
this  college,  as  Vice-President  protem.  from  the  19th  of  November 
last,  to  the  present  commencement :  and,  ordered  that  the  treasurer 
pay  unto  the  said  Mr.  Tennent,  the  said  sum  of  £100,  out  of  the  first 
monies  that  he  may  have  in  hands. 

Voted,  that  the  annual  salaries  of  the  President  and  Professors 
now  chosen,  to  commence  frpm  the  time  they  shall  respectively  en- 
ter upon  their  several  offices^  shall  be  as  follows  : — 
To  the  President  and  Professor  of  Rhetorick  and  Metaphysicks  £200 
Professor  of  Divinity  and  Moyal  Philosophy  175 


NOTE?.  39^ 

Professor  of  Mathematicks  and  Natural  Philosophy  JC150 

Professor  of  Languages  and  Logick  125 

The  trustees  having  now,  pursuant  to  the  plan  proposed,  nomina- 
ted and  chosen  several  gentlemen  of  reputation  in  tlic  literary  world^ 
and  of  undoubted  skill  in  those  branches  of  science  to  which  they 
are  designed,  do  find,  that  notwithstanding  they  have  annexed  the 
most  moderate  salaries  to  the  rcsjicctive  officers,  the  present  state 
of  the  college  revenue  renders  it  impossiblf^  for  them  to  provide  the 
sum  total  of  the  salaries  ;  and  that  it  is  therefore  not  in  their  power 
immediately  to  invite  and  introduce  together  the  four  professors 
elect,  to  the  actual  execution  of  tlicir  offices,  as  a  faculty  ;  even 
should  they  all  acquiesce  in  their  present  election,  which  is  yet  an 
uncertainty :  and  as  four  instructors  are  immediately  requisite  to 
carry  on  the  business  of  the  college,  it  is  resolved  to  continue  the 
present  constitution  under  a  Vice-President  and  three  Tutors,  at 
least  during  the  year  ensuing — that  at  the  end  of  the  year,  the  Pre- 
sident elect  be  called  to  the  exercise  of  his  office  ;  and  if,  in  the  inte- 
rim, any  means  may  be  devised  to  enable  the  trustees  to  support  the 
two  other  professors,  (viz.  the  professor  of  Mathematicks  and  Natu- 
ral Philosophy,  and  Professor  of  Languages  and  Logick)  in  that  case 
the  gentlemen  now  elected  to  those  offices  shall  be  called  to  enter  upon 
the  same,  and  the  constitution  by  a  faculty  shall  then  take  place. 

Pursuant  to  the  above  resolution,  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Blair,  who  13 
pleased  to  accept  the  professorship  of  divinity  and  morality,  was  aLso 
chosen  Vice-President,  until  the  next  commencement,  and  was  ac* 
Obrdingly  qualified  to  hold  those  offices,  as  the  charter  directs. 

Mr.  Joseph  Periam  was  also  duly  elected  senior  tutor  of  this  col-, 
lege,  in  the  room  of  Jeremiah  Halsey  rosigncd,  and  was  qualified  a'S 
the  charter  directs. 

Mr.  James  Thompson,  second  tutor,  and  Mr.  Jonathan  Edwards, 
jun.  tutor,  whose  services  and  conduct  in  their  respective  offices  be- 
ing much  approved,  were  requested  by  Mr.  Tennent,  in  the  name  of 
this  board,  to  continue  in  their  said  offices  for  the  year  ensuing,  to 
which  they  were  pleased  to  signify  their  compliance. 

Voted,  That  there  be  allowed  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds 
proc.  to  each  of  the  tutors,  as  their  respective  salaries,  for  the  year 
ensuing. 

Voted,  That  the  expenses  that  may  accrue  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  John. 
Blair,  in  the  removal  of  himself  and  family  to  Nassau-Hall,  be 
defrayed  out  of  the  college  treasury. 

Dr.  Shippen  is  desired  to  inform  Dr.  Williamson  by  letter,  in  the 
name  of  this  board,  of  his  election  to  the  professorship  of  Mathe- 
maticks and  Natural  Philosophy,  and  to  acquaint   him   with  thci!" 


394  NOTES. 

resolution  to  defer  calling  liim  to  the  Exercise  of  the  office,  for  at 
least  one  year,  and  until  they  are  enabled  to  provide  the  support  an- 
nexed to  the  same. 

Mr.  Spencer  is  desired  to  notify  the  congregation  at  Fog's  Manor 
of  Mr.  Blair's  election  to  a  professorship  in  this  college,  and  to  pur- 
sue the  necessary  steps,  in  the  behalf  of  this  board,  for  obtaining 
the  said  Mr.  Blair's  discharge  from  his  pastoral  office,  in  order  to  his 
speedy  removal." 

Mr.  Blair,  agreeably  to  the  arrangements  here  made,  was  releas- 
ed from  his  pastoral  charge,  and  entered  on  the  performance  of  his 
duties,  as  Vice-President  and  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  College. 
But  none  of  the  other  professors  ever  accepted  their  appointments. 
By  the  conditions  attached  to  these  appointments,  they  were  not  to 
take  effect  till  after  the  lapse  of  a  whole  year  ;  nor  even  then,  un- 
less, in  the  mean  time,  funds  should  be  collected  adequate  to  the 
support  of  the  professors  to  whom  they  related.  These  arrange- 
ments appear  to  have  been  proposed  on  the  one  side,  and  acceded 
to  on  the  other,  with  a  view  to  show  a  conciliatory  disposition.  One 
professor  of  the  old  side  party  was  chosen  ;  and  at  the  same  meet- 
ing one  gentleman  of  that  party  was  unanimously  elected,  to  fill  a 
vacancy  which  had  taken  place  in  the  board  of  trustees.  While 
this  was  done,  however,  effectual  care  was  taken  to  give  no  pledges 
which  could  produce  subsequent  embarrassment.  These  measures 
"were,  perhaps,  the  best  which  the  circumstances  in  which  the  board 
was  placed  would  admit.  Yet  it  seems  strange  that  any  one  should 
seriously  expect  that  they  would  ever  be  carried  into  effect.  It  is 
believed  by  the  writer  that  many  members  of  the  board,  at  this 
very  time,  cherished  a  pretty  sanguine  hope  that  Dr.  Witherspoon 
•would  yet  become  the  President  of  the  college.  That  event,  wheth- 
er expected  or  not,  did  at  length  take  place  ;  and  not  a  word  after- 
wards appears  on  the  records,  in  regard  to  the  appointments  which 
%vere  now  made  ;  nor  in  reference  to  any  part  of  this  negociation 
and  agreement  relative  to  a  faculty.  There  had  never,  indeed, 
been  any  ojien  or  avowed  opposition  to  the  election  of  Doctor  With- 
erspoon. And  when  he  entered  on  his  office,  his  prudence,  talents 
and  weight  of  character,  not  only  put  an  end  to  party  measures  in 
the  board  of  trustees,  but  contributed  greatly  to  produce  the  same 
effect  in  the  councils  of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged. 

*•  Mr.  Tennent  communicated  a  letter  from  Mr.  Stephen  Sayre  of 
London,  merchant,  wherein  he  is  pleased  to  offer,  if  properly  em- 
powered, to  exert  his  endeavours  in  England  for  obtaining  benefac- 
tions in  favour  of  this  college.  Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this 
board  be  transmitted  to  that  gentleman  for  his  polite  and  generous 


NOTES.  395 

offer ;  and  that  Mr.  Rodgers  do  write  to  the  said  Mr.  Sayre,  in  the 
name  of  this  board,  expressing  their  grateful  acknowledgments  for 
his  proffered  services  in  England  ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  enclose 
a  general  commission  from  the  trustees  of  this  college,  to  be  signed 
by  the  clerk  in  their  name  and  sealed  with  the  corporation  seal,  em- 
powering him  to  act  as  their  agent  and  attorney,  in  soliciting  and 
receiving  benefactions  in  books.  Philosophical  Instruments,  and  sub- 
scriptions for  the  use  of  this  College  ;  and  to  employ  any  attorneys 
under  him  for  the  said  purpose." 

Stephen  Sayre,  the  gentleman  mentioned  in  this  minute,  was  u 
native  American,  and  graduated  at  Nassau-Hall  in  1757.  He  was, 
at  this  time,  an  eminent  London  merchant,  and  afterwards  became 
high  sheriff  of  that  city.  His  kind  dispositions  toward  his  Alma 
Mater  were  certainly  commendable  ;  but  there  is  no  record  of  any 
donations  which  he  obtained  for  the  college.  Perhaps  his  expecta- 
tions were  disappointed  by  the  ardent  controversies  which,  about 
this  time,  took  place,  in  regard  to  the  claims  of  the  mother  country 
and  the  colonies.  In  those  controversies  Mr.  Sayre  participated 
deeply — He  eventually  left  Britain,  returned  to  his  native  country, 
and  lived  in  retirement  to  a  very  advanced  age.  He  died  in  Vir.^ 
ginia  about  four  years  since. 

*♦  Voted,  That  there  be  allowed  to  Mr.  Halsey  the  sum  of  forty 
pounds  (including  the  graduation  fees  at  this  commencement)  over 
and  above  his  stated  salary,  in  consideration  of  his  extra  service? 
during  the  past  year,  and  the  treasurer  is  hereby  directed  to  pay 
unto  the  said  Mr.  Halsey  whatever  sum  the  graduation  fees  may 
fall  short  of  said  forty  pounds,  over  and  above  his  stated  salary,  aS 
soon  as  he  conveniently  can. 

Resolved,    That  Messrs.  Stockton,  Berrien  and  Woodruff,  be  a 

committee  for  settling  the  accounts  of  the  last  college  lottery  with 

the  managers  thereof,  and  report  the  same  at  the  next  fall  meeting. 

Ordered,  That  the  treasurer  do  collect  in  the  out-standing  debts 

of  the  last  lottery,  with  all  possible  despatch. 

At  a  meeting  of  tlie  trustees — 9th  December,  1767 — The  clerk 
certified  that,  pursuant  to  an  order  to  him  directed  and  signed  by 
six  of  the  trustees  of  tliis  college,  he  had  issued  regular  and  timely 
notifications  of  the  present  meeting,  to  all  the  members, 

Mr.  Smith  communicated  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel 
Blair,  to  the  Honourable  William  Smith,  Esq.  President  of  the  trus- 
tees at  their  last  meeting,  wherein  tlie  said  Mr.  Blair  declines  ac- 
cepting the  Presidentship  of  this  college,  to  which  he  was  chosen  ; 
and  the  said  office  was  accordingly  declared  to  be  vacant." 
The  Rev.  Samuel  Blair,  afterwards  the  Rev.  Doctor  Blair,  who  la 


396  NOTES. 

recorded  in  this  minute  to  have  "  declined  accepting  the  President- 
ship of  the  college,"  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Blair  of  Fog's 
Manor,  heretofore  mentioned,  and  the  nephew  of  the  Rev.  John 
Blair,  professor  of  Divinity.  He  was  graduated  at  Nassau-Hall  in 
1760 ;  and  afterwards  served,  for  about  a  year,  as  a  tutor  in  the  in- 
stitution. He  was,  at  this  time,  settled  in  the  ministry,  in  the  town 
of  Boston,  as  colleague  with  the  venerable  Doctor  Joseph  Sewall. 

Mr.  Blair  must  have  been  under  thirty  years  of  age,  probably  not 
more  than  twenty-eight,  when  he  was  chosen  President.  But  at 
that  time  a  youth  of  higher  premise  was  probably  not  to  be  found 
in  the  American  church.  The  writer  has  learned  from  good  au- 
thority, that  as  soon  as  Mr.  Blair  had  ascertained  that  a  re-election 
of  Doctor  Witherspoon  would  insure  his  services  and  influence  in 
favour  of  the  college,  a  voluntary  and  prompt  tender  of  the  resigna- 
tion here  recorded,  prevented  the  embarrassment  in  which  the 
board  of  trustees  might  otherwise  have  been  involved.  Dr.  With- 
erspoon has  been  known  to  mention  this  act,  as  an  instance  of  disin- 
terestedness and  generosity,  highly  creditable  to  Mr.  Blair. 

This  gentleman,  shortly  after  his  resignation  of  the  Presidency, 
fell  into  a  valetudinary  state,  which  induced  him  to  resign  his  pas- 
toral charge  in  Boston  ;  and  which  rendered  his  subsequent  life 
little  else  than  a  long  disease.  He  resided,  for  many  years,  at  Ger- 
mantown  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Philadelphia,  and  performed 
such  occasional  ministerial  services  as  his  health  would  permit^ 
For  two  years,  he  served  as  chaplain  in  Congress.  The  writer  re- 
collects many  pleasant  hours  spent  in  his  company,  in  an  acquain-r 
tance  of  nearly  thirty  years  continuanpe.  He  died  about  two  years 
since. 

"  Mr.  Stockton  communicated  to  the  board  sundry  letters  he  had 
lately  received  from  Scotland,  informing  him  that  difficulties  which 
had  prevented  Dr.  Witherspoon's  acceptance  of  the  Presidentship 
to  which  he  had  been  chosen,  were  now  removed  ;  and  that  upon  a 
re-election,  he  would  esteem  it  a  duty  to  enter  into  this  publick  ser^ 
vice.  The  board,  receiving  the  intelligence  with  peculiar  satisfac- 
tion, proceeded  immediately  to  a  re-election,  when  the  said  Doctor 
Witherspoon  was  again  unanimously  elected  to  the  said  office. 

Resolved,  that  the  salary  to  be  allowed  Dr.  Witherspoon,  as  Presi- 
-dent  of  this  college,  be  according  to  the  propositions  made  to  him  in 
the  letter  wrote  him  by  the  President  of  this  boaixl,  upon  his  former 
election ;  together  with  the  explanation  thereof  mentioned  to  the 
said  Dr.  Witherspoon,  by  Mr.  Stockton,  one  of  the  members  of  this 
])oard,  in  his  letter  frpm  Edinburgh,  dated  2d  March,  1767 :  And 


NOTES.  39r 

that  the  same  sum  of  one  hundred  guineas,  as  on  his  former  elec- 
tion, be  allowed  him  for  the  expenses  of  removing  himself  and  fami- 
ly to  this  place. 

Resolved,  that  the  President  of  this  board  be  desired  immediately 
to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  above  vote  to  Dr.  Witherspoon  ;  and  also 
to  send  a  duplicate  of  the  same  by  the  first  opportimity,  to  be  accom- 
panied with  his  letter,  requesting  the  said  Dr.  Witherspoon  to  has- 
ten his  coming  over,  as  soon  as  he  conveniently  can. 

The  trustees  from  long  experience  having  found  the  inconvenien- 
ces and  disadvantages  to  this  institution,  which  have  arisen  from  in- 
dulgences that  have  frequently  been  granted,  by  admitting  and  re- 
ceiving scholars  into  one  or  other  of  the  three  higher  classes,  at  their 
first  coming  to  the  college,  upon  their  payment  of  certain  fees  as  en- 
trance money,  it  is  therefore  voted,  that  from  and  after  the  com- 
mencement which  shall  be  held  in  the  month  of  September  1769,  no 
dispensation  shall  be  granted  by  the  President  or  officers  of  this  col- 
lege from  the  usual  residence  of  four  years,  required  by  the  standing 
laws  of  this  and  other  colleges ;  and  that  no  candidates  shall  be 
thenceforward  received  into  this  seminary,  but  as  entrants  into  the 
lowest  or  Freshman  class  ;  allowing  only  the  term  of  the  first  quar- 
ter, after  the  commencement  vacation,  to  be  regai'ded  as  days  of 
grace,  after  which  no  scholar  shall  be  admitted." 

This  order  of  the  board  was  soon  repealed :  and  after  several  mod- 
ifications, the  rule  which  for  several  years  past  has  been  established 
and  acted  on,  in  regard  to  the  reception  of  students  into  the  several 
classes  of  college,  is,  that  no  student  shall  be  admitted  to  a  higher 
standing  than  the  beginning  of  the  senior  year ;  and  that  the  tuition 
and  room  rent  of  two  full  years,  shall  be  paid  by  every  student,  be- 
fore he  is  admitted  to  his  degree — Admissions  to  the  senior  class 
have  very  seldom  taken  place. 

**  Voted,  that  the  practice  of  sending  freshmen  upon  errands,  or 
employing  them  as  servitors,  in  any  manner  whatsoever,  be  from 
henceforward  totally  discontinued." 

Previously  to  this  time,  the  members  of  the  freshmen  class  were 
accustomed  to  perform  several  menial  services,  when  required  so  to 
do  by  the  other  students,  especially  by  those  of  the  senior  class.  By 
the  passage  of  this  vote,  the  absurd  usage  was  abolished,  and  has 
ever  since  been  discontinued. 

"  Mr.  Stockton  having  informed  the  board,  that  he  had  received 
when  in  England,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  which 
was  given  to  the  trustees  of  this  college  in  trust  for  and  towards  the 
liupport  of  a  Divinity  Profes-sor  m  the  ^me,  by  Mr.  Williapison  of 


398  NOTES. 

Hanover,  in  Virginia — Resolved  that  Dr.  Redman  do  transmit  the 
thanks  of  this  board,  by  letter,  to  the  said  Mr.  Williamson,  for  his 
generous  donation. 

The  ti-ustees  conceiving  it  to  be  a  matter  of  real  importance  to  the 
interest  of  this  college,  that  the  grammar  school  which  was  lately- 
kept  in  this  town  should  be  again  set  up,  under  the  countenance  and 
patronage  of  this  board,  resolved  that  Messrs.  Woodruff,  Berrien, 
Tennent,  Stockton  and  Smith,  or  any  three  of  them,  be  a  committee 
to  consider  of  ways  and  means  for  setting  up  and  promoting  the 
same,  and  to  procure  a  proper  master,  or  masters,  who  may  be  wil- 
ling to  engage  in  that  service,  and  report  their  proceedings  at  the 
next  meeting. 

The  trustees  having  thought  it  expedient,  in  order  to  enable  them  to 
establish  and  support  a  number  of  Professors  in  this  college,  that  sub- 
scriptions in  this  and  the  neighbouring  colonies  should  be  set  forward, 
among  the  friends  of  religion  and  learning,  and  Mr.  Smith  presenting  a 
draught  of  a  preamble  to  said  proposed  subscription  papers,  the  one 
designed  to  be  subscribed  by  such  persons  as  may  choose  to  contri- 
bute a  sum  in  gross,  the  other  as  an  annual  subscription,  to  continue 
for  seven  years,  from  1st  August  1768,  the  same  were  examined 
and  approved  ;  and  Mr.  Bryan  is  desired  to  order  300  of  each  sort  to 
be  forthwith  printed  at  Philadelphia,  and  to  distribute  a  number  of 
each  to  every  member  of  this  board,  who  mutually  engage  to  use 
their  best  endeavours  to  promote  these  subscriptions  in  the  country. 
And  the  said  Mr.  Bryan  is  directed  to  draw  upon  the  trustees  for 
the  expense  of  printing  the  same. 

This  board  being  informed  that  tjie  Synod  of  New- York  and  Phil- 
adelphia, have  lately  appointed  an  annual  contribution  to  be  made  in 
the  several  congregations  throughout  their  bounds,  for  the  laudable 
purpose  of  promoting  christian  knowledge,  and  conceiving  that  a 
yearly  appropriation  of  some  part  of  the  said  contributions,  for  and 
towards  the  support  of  a  Divinity  Professor  in  this  college,  would 
perfectly  accord  with  the  views  of  the  Synod  in  the  said  appoint- 
ment, as  the  well  training  up  and  instruction  of  our  youth  in  the  doc- 
trines of  Christianity  would  be  one  of  the  most  effectual  means  to 
accomplish  the  excellent  purposes  designed  by  said  contribution ;  it 
is  therefore  ordered,  that  Mr.  Rodgers  do  prepare  a  draught  of  a 
letter  to  said  Synod,  requesting  an  annual  appropriation  of  part  of 
those  collections  towards  the  maintenance  of  a  Professor  of  Divinity 
in  this  college,  to  be  laid  before  the  board  this  afternoon. 

Mr.  Rodgers,  pursuant  to  order,  laid  before  the  board  a  draught 
of  a  letter  to  the  Reverend  Synod  of  New-York  and  Philadelphia, 
>vhich  was  read  and  approved — Ordered  that  the  sajiie  be  transcrib- 


NOTES.  399 

ed  and  signed  by  the  clerk,  and  that  Mr.  Rodgers  dopreetntit  at  the 
next  session  of  the  said  Synod." 

This  application  to  the  Synod  was  successful.  A  contribution  was 
ordered  to  be  made,  in  all  the  congregations  under  the  care  of  the 
Synod,  for  the  support  of  a  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  college — to 
be  annually  applied  by  a  vote  of  the  Synod.  In  the  mean  time,  the 
sum  of  fifty  pounds  was  loaned,  on  the  credit  of  the  fund  expected  to 
arise  from  the  contributions  ordered,  and  was  immediately  paid  to 
the  college  treasurer. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  of  the  trustees,  in  December,  1767, 
from  the  minutes  of  which  the  preceding  extracts  have  been  made, 
the  board  adjourned  till  "  the  next  commencement ;"  expecting 
probably  that  Dr.  Witherspoon  would  not  arrive  before  that  time. 
He  did  arrive  however  in  August  of  the  following  year,  and  a  special 
meeting  of  the  board  was  called  on  tlie  17th  of  that  month,  at  which 
he  was  inaugurated. 


The  author  of  these  notes  has  now  shown  the  origin  and  design  of 
the  college  of  New-Jersey ;  and  traced  its  history  through  the  ad- 
ministration of  its  first  five  Presidents — a  labour  which  he  has 
found  far  greater  than  he  anticipatedwhen  he  entei'ed  upon  it,  and 
for  the  continuance  of  which  he  has,  at  present,  neither  strength  nor 
leisure.  The  whole  period,  however,  in  the  history  of  the  college, 
over  which  a  degree  of  obscurity  had  gathered,  and  which  was  eve- 
ry year  increasing,  has  been  explored  and  enlightened. — To  accom- 
plish this  he  was  chiefly  solicitous.  For  the  period  that  remains, 
although  more  extensive,  and  in  some  respects  more  interestingjthan 
that  of  which  an  account  has  been  given,  the  materials  for  history 
are  both  ample  and  easily  accessible.  Perhaps  the  author,  at  a  fu- 
ture day,  may  pursue  and  complete  this  history,  and  publish  the 
•whole  in  a  volume  by  itself — For  this,  however,  he  can  give  no 
pledge. 

In  the  mean  time,  that  the  readers  of  these  notes  may  have  a  gen- 
eral view  of  the  present  state  of  the  institution,  and  of  the  course  of 
study  pursued  in  it — he  subjoins  a  copy  of  a  circular  letter,  which  is 
sent,  twice  a  year,  to  the  parents  and  guardians  of  the  youth  who  be- 
long to  the  college. 

CIRCULAR. 

The  parents  and  guardians  of  the  youth  sent  to  a  place  of  publick 
education,  are  naturally  and  properly  anxious  to  know  the  charac- 


400  .NOTES. 

ter,  standing  and  proficiency,  of  their  children  or  wards.  To  satisfy 
this  anxiety,  to  prevent  the  necessity  of  frequent  written  communi- 
cations, and  at  the  same  time  to  promote  the  welfare  both  of  the 
youth  and  of  the  institution,  it  has  been  resolved  to  send,  at  the  end 
of  each  session,  a  printed  communication  to  every  parent  or  guardi- 
an interested  in  the  youth  now  at  this  college. 

To  make  the  information  conveyed,  at  once  concise  and  perspicu- 
ous, the  following  method  has  been  devised :  The  class  to  which 
each  student  belongs  has  been  divided,  with  reference  to  the  articles 
specified  at  the  bottom  of  this  page,  into  three  parts — The  first  part 
contains  those  who  are  considered  as  having  the  most  merit  in  the 
class,  in  the  several  articles  specified,  and  is  marked  No.  1. — The 
second  part  contains  all  those  who  have  a  medium  share  of  merit, 
and  is  marked  No.  2. — The  third  part,  marked  No.  3,  contains  those 
who  are  below  the  medium  standing.  When  an  individual  is  distin- 
guished in  any  of  the  particulars  which  are  numerically  marked,  the 
word  distinguished,  is  added,  in  manuscript,  to  the  number.  And  as 
distinctions,  in  the  article  of  scholarship,  are  themselves  various,  the 
variety  is  also  marked — Thus,  if  under  the  article  scholarship,  a  stu- 
dent is  marked  No.  1.  distinguished  (1),  he  is  to  be  considered  as 
ranking  among  the  first  in  his  class — If  he  is  marked  No.  1.  distin- 
guished (2),  he  is  to  be  considered  as  a  degree  less  eminent  than  th§ 
former.  So,  likewise,  in  regard  to  (3)  following  the  word  distin- 
guished. And  if  he  is  simply  marked  No.  1,  he  is  to  be  considered 
as  holding  more  than  a  medium  standing  in  his  class,  yet  not  as  equal 
to  those  who  are  distinguished.  Those  who,  in  scholarship,  are 
ranked  under  Nos.  2  and  3,  are  never  discriminated  as  standing  high 
or  low  in  those  grades.  The  former  No.  as  already  intimated,  indi- 
cates a  good  medium  standing,  and  the  latter  a  standing  somewhat 
lower. 

All  who  receive  this  communication  may  be  assured,  that  the 
statement  given,  is  made  by  the  faculty  with  a  sacred  regard  to 
truth  and  impartiality.  They  are  sensible,  however,  that  they  may 
not  always  do  exact  justice,  though  they  aim  at  it ;  and  it  will  ever 
give  them  pleasure  to  correct,  in  a  subsequent  communication,  an 
error  made  in  a  preceding  one.  They  believe  they  are  rather  more 
in  danger  of  mistaking  on  the  favourable,  than  the  unfavorable  side  ; 
but  they  repeat,  that  they  have  been  as  cautious  as  possible,  not  to 
step  from  the  line  of  tinith,  on  the  one  hand  or  on  the  other.  The 
article  of  behaviour  is  that  in  which  they  are  most  likely  to  err. 

It  is  important  to  remark,  that  the  character  of  youth  often  chan- 
ges during  the  course  of  their  education.  Some  who  begin  well,  end 
ill ;  and  some,  on  the  contrary,  who  were  once  culpable,  reform,  and 


NOTES.  401 

take  the  highest  standing.  It  therefore  by  no  means  follows,  that 
each  student  will  remain  always  what  he  is  now.  If  parents,  then, 
observe  that  their  children  are  doing  well,  it  will  behove  them  to 
use  all  tlieir  advice  and  influence  to  preserve  them  in  well  doing.  If 
deficiencies  or  faults  are  observed,  the  youth  should  be  exhorted, 
and  urged,  and  encouraged  to  repair  them.  The  thing  is  perfectly- 
practicable,  and  often  takes  place  in  fact.  If  industry  has  been  grea- 
ter than  success,  no  fault  is  involved,  and  none  ought  to  be  charged : 
The  youth  is  unfortunate,  not  blanieablt 

It  is  the  earnest  endeavour  of  the  faculty  to  avoid  all  harshness, 
severity  or  rigor,  in  the  administration  of  the  government  and  in- 
struction of  the  college,  and  to  make  all  suitable  allowance  for  the 
inconsiderateness  of  youth.  Nothing  servile,  degrading  or  impracti- 
cable, is  wished  or  demanded.  It  is  the  object  to  which  they  con- 
stantly look,  to  make  their  pupils  happy,  and  to  present  them  to 
their  parents  manly,  well  taught,  and  virtuous.  But  to  the  attain- 
ment of  these  ends,  strict  order,  prompt  obedience,  unblemished  mo- 
rals, and  constant  industry,  are  considered  as  indispensable.  No 
youth  can  long  remain  in  this  institution  who  is  grossly  deficient  in 
any  one  of  these  particulars.  Parents,  therefore,  will  consult  their 
own  and  their  children's  happiness,  by  inculcating,  in  the  most  im- 
pressive manner,  an  attention  to  these  several  points :  And  if  those 
who  have  children  now  here,  shall  be  consulted  by  others  who  may 
think  of  sending  youth  to  this  college,  it  will  be  accepted  as  a  favour, 
if  the  inquirers  be  informed,  that  while  we  shall  be  glad  to  receive 
virtuous,  orderly  and  industrious  youth,  it  is  not  our  wish  to  receive 
any  of  a  different  character  ;  and  that  if  others  enter,  a  speedy  re- 
formation, or  a  speedy  dismission,  must  be  the  only  alternative  ex- 
pected. 

It  has  been  found,  by  much  experience,  that  nothing  is  more  inju- 
rious to  youth  than  an  unrestricted  use  of  money.  It  furnishes  both 
the  means  and  the  temptation  to  idleness,  dissipation  and  vice.  The 
parent  who  is  not  guarded  in  this  particular,  need  not  be  surprised 
at  finding  his  child  deficient  in  study,  and  falling  under  censure  for 
disorder  or  mischief.  The  spending  of  much  money  here,  beyond 
the  stated  expenses  of  college,  is  not  necessary,  nor  honourable,  nor 
in  any  respect  useful.  It  would  be  well  if  every  parent  would  require 
his  child  to  keep  an  accurate  and  detailed  account  of  his  expenses— 
to  demand  this  at  the  end  of  each  session,  and  when  excess  is  suspec- 
ted, to  consult  the  president  of  the  college  on  the  subject. 


402 


NOTES. 


SCALE  OF  MERIT. 

Name  of  the  class. 

Behaviour,  No. 
Industry,  No. 
Scholarship,  No. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  faculty, 

Nassau-Hall, 


Clerk. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  stated  expenses  of  the  college,  each  session  paid  in  advance, 
exclusive  of  books,  clothes,  candles,  room  furniture,  and  travelling 
expenses,  are  as  follow,  viz. 


WINTER  SESSION. 

SUMMER  SESSIOI 

N\ 

Board  22  weeks 

$55  00 

Board  19  weeks 

47  50 

Tuition 

24  00 

Tuition 

24  00 

Room-rent 

6  00 

Room-rent 

6  00 

Wood 

15  00 

Library 

1  00 

Library 

1  00 

Servants'  Wages 

4  00 

Servants'  Wages 

4  00 

Washing 

7  00 

Washing 

7  00 

Damages  and  Shoe 

- 

Damages  and  Shoe-blacking 

2  00 

blacking 

2  00 

^114  00  $91  50 

Extra  Damages  Extra  Damages 

New  students  pay,  entrance  $5  00 :  and  for  1  copy  of  the  printed 
Laws  of  the  college,  33  cents. 

A  student  dismissed  from  college,  for  whatever  cause,  will  have 
refunded  to  him  the  whole  which  he  has  advanced  for  board,  from 
the  time  of  dismission. 

The  annual  commencement  of  the  college  is  on  the  last  Wednes- 
day of  September.  The  fall  vacation  begins  the  day  after  commence- 
ment, and  expires  in  six  weeks.  The  spring  vacation  begins  on  the 
first  Thursday  after  the  second  Tuesday  in  April,  and  expires  in 
five  weeks. 

No  student  will  be  admitted  into  the  freshman  or  lowest  class  in 
the  college,  unless  he  be  accurately  acquainted  with  the  grammar, 
including  prosody,  of  both  the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues ;  unless  he 
be  master  of  Caesar's  Commentaries,  Sallust,  select  parts  of  Ovid'sj 
Metamorphoses,  Virgil,  the  Orations  of  Cicero  contained  in  the  vol- 
ume in  Usum  Delfihiniy  the  Evangelists  of  the  Greek  Testament, 
Murphy's  Lucian  or  Dalzel's  Collectanea  Gracca  Minora,  the  first 


NOTES. 


403 


three  books  of  Xenophon*s  Cyropxdia,  and  of  Mair's  or  Clarke's  In- 
troduction to  the  Making  of  Latin  ;  and  unless  he  be  well  acquainted 
-with  Arithnietick,  English  Grammar  and  Geography. 

The  catechism  of  the  church  to  which  the  candidate  belongs  is 
also  required. 

THE  STUDIES  OF  THE  SEVERAL  CLASSES  ARE  AS 

FOLLOW : 


FRESHMAN  CLASS. 

Winter  Scssio?!. 
Arithmetick, 
Geography, 
English  Grammar, 
Mair's  Introduction  to  the  Making 

of  Latin, 
Ovid, 
Virgil, 
Xenophon, 
Composition. 

Summer  Session. 
Arithmetick,  Algebra, 
Geography, 
English  Grammar, 
Mair's  Introduction, 
Horace, 
Xenophon, 

Dalzel's  Collectanea  Grxca  Majoi-a, 
Composition. 


SOPHOMORE  CLASS. 

JVinter  Session. 
Arithmetick,  Geography, 
English  Grammar,  History, 
Mair's  Introduction, 
Horace, 

Collectanea  Grocca  Majora, 
Homer's  Iliad, 
Composition, 
Algebra. 

Summer  Session. 
Arithmetick,  Geography, 
English  Grammar,  Jamison's 

Rhetorick, 
Mair's  Introduction, 
Cicero, 

Roman  Antiquities, 
Collectanea  Grxca  Majora, 
Homer, 
Composition, 
Algebra, 


JUNIOR 

Winter  Ses»ion. 
Geometry — (Playfair's  Euclid) 
Plane  Tingonometry, 
Mensuration,  Surveying, 
Greek  and  Latin  Classicks, 
Composition,  History. 

Summer  Session. 
Spherical  Trigonometry, 
Elements  of  Astronomy, 
Navigation, 


CLASS. 

Summer  Session. 
Conic  Sections  and  Curve  Lines, 
Application  of  Algebra  to  Geom- 
etry, 
Fluxions, 
Mechanicks, 

Greek  and  Latin  Classicks, 
Composition, 
Natural  Theology, 
Locke  on  Human  Understanding. 


404  NOTES. 

SENIOR  CLASS. 

Winter  Session.  Summer  Sessioji. 

Belles  Lettres  and  Rhetorick,         Belles  Lettres, 
Composition,  Composition, 

Moral  Philosophy,  Mechanicks, 

Logick,  Chemistry, 

Metaphysicks,  Political  Econo-      Experimental  Philosophy,, 

my  and  Philosophy  of  mind,       Astronomy, 
Mechanicks,  Natural  History, 

Chemistry,  Evidences  of  the  Christian  Re-? 

Natural  History,  ligion. 

Experimental  Philosophy,  Greek  and  Latin  Classicks. 

Greek  and  Latin  Classicks. 

All  the  classes  read  and  are  examined  on  a  portion  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  on  the  Sabbath. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  College  of  New- Jer- 
sey, at  Princeton,  on  the  13th  of  April,  1819,  it  was  resolved  that 
the  following  notice  to  the  parents  and  guardians  of  the  youth  in  this 
college,  should  be  given  through  the  medium  of  the  public  Newspa- 
pers, viz. 

"  As  great  complaints  have  frequently  been  made  in  regard  to  the 
amount  of  expense  incurred  by  some  of  the  youth  belonging  to  this 
college  ;  complaints  arising  wholly  from  sujierjiuous  expense,  since; 
the  necessary  charges  of  the  institution  are  certainly  moderate  ;  and 
as  all  other  means  which  have  been  used  to  correct  this  evil  have 
been  found  inadequate  ;  the  trustees  of  this  college  give  this  notice  to 
the  parents  and  guardians  of  the  youth,  that  they  ought  to  pay  no 
debt  contracted  in  this  town,  which  they  have  not  explicitly  author- 
ized :  And  the  trustees  do  earnestly  request  that  no  such  debt  may 
be  paid  by  any  parent  or  guardian.  The  trustees  have,  also,  earnest- 
ly to  request  that  parents  and  guardians  would  pay  a  special  regard 
to  the  statement  made  to  them  twice  a  year,  in  the  circular  letters 
of  the  college,  which  is  to  this  effect— That  the  spending  of  much 
money  by  the  students  of  this  college  is  not  necessary,  nor  useful,  nor 
honourable  ;  but  in  all  respects  injurious  :  That  whenever  parents 
put  considerable  sums  of  money  at  the  disposal  of  their  children, 
they  furnish  the  means  of  vice  and  the  temjitation  to  it,  and  have,  in 
most  cases,  nothing  to  expect  but  that  idleness,  dissipation  and  dis- 
honour, will  be  the  consequence  ;  and  that  whenever  excess  of  ex- 
pense is  suspected,  the  president  of  the  college  ought  immediately 
to  be  consulted  on  the  subject. 


NOTES.  405 

The  ueccssaiy  annual  expenses  of  this  college,  exclusive  of  clothes, 
books,  and  pocket  money,  amount  to  about  ^225*'  ;  and  if  an  equal 
sum  be  allowed  by  parents  who  make  all  their  purchases  in  this 
place,  for  clothes,  books  and  incidental  charges,  so  as  to  make  the 
whole  sum  expended  $450,  the  allowance  is  not  only  sufficient,  but 
ample.  Many  live  with  entire  reputation  on  much  less,  and  non? 
ought  to  spend  more. 

Having  given  the  statement,  and  made  the  request  contained  in 
this  notice,  the  board  must  leave  the  concern  with  the  parents  and 
guardians  of  youth  :  It  is  impossible,  either  for  tl\e  trustees  or  the 
faculty  of  the  college,  to  prevent  the  spending  of  money  when  it  is 
possessed ;  or  the  contracting  of  unnecessary  and  unlawful  debts,  if, 
through  a  false  principle  of  honor,  these  debts  be  paid. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  Board, 

ISAAC  H.  WILLIAMSON, 
Governor  of  the  State  of  New-Jersey,  and 
Ex-officio  President  of  the  Board.^' 


NOTE  E— Ffl^e  50. 

In  the  passage  of  the  discourse  from  which  there  is  a  reference  to 
this  note,  the  thought  is  borrowed  from  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Ar- 
buthnot's  well  known  and  justly  celebrated  epitaph  on  Francis  Char- 
tres  ;  the  whole  of  which  is  here  inserted,  for  the  purpose  of  easy 
reference  and  as  illustrative  of  the  point  discussed. 

'*  Here  continueth  to  rot 

The  Body  of  FRANCIS  CHARTRES, 

Who,  with  an  Inflexible  Constancy 

and  Inimitable  Uniformity  of  Life, 

Persisted, 

In  spite  of  Age  and  Infirmities, 

In  the  Practice  of  Every  human  Vice  ; 

Excepting  Prodigality  and  Hypocrisy  : 

His  insatiable  Avarice  exempted  him  from  the  first. 

His  matchless  Impudence  from  the  second. 

Nor  was  he  more  .singular. 

In  the  undeviating  Pravity  of  his  Alanners^ 

Than  successful 

In  Accumulatinff  Wealth  ; 

For,  without  Trade  or  Profession, 

Without  Trust  of  Publick  Money, 

*  At  present,  only  §20:1  50. 


40S  NOt^S. 

And  without  Bribe- worthy  Service, 

He  acquired,  or  more  properly  created, 

A  Ministerial  estate. 

He  was  the  only  Person  of  his  Time, 

Who  could  CHEAT  without  the  Mask  of  Honesty, 

Retain  his  primeval  Manners 

When  possessed  of  Ten  Thousand  a  year. 

And  having  daily  deserved  the  Gibbet  for  what  he  did. 

Was  at  last  condemned  to  it  for  what  he  could  not  do. 

Oh  Indignant  Reader! 

Think  not  his  Life  useless  to  Mankind ! 

Providence  connived  at  his  execrable  Designs, 

To  give  to  after-ages 

A  conspicuous  Proof  and  Example, 

Of  how  small  Estimation  is  Ezhorbitant  Wealth 

In  the  Sight  of  God, 

By  his  bestowing  it  on  the  most  Unworthy  of  All  Mortals.'^ 


NOTE  F— Pflg-e  52. 

The  author  here  refers  to  Doctor  Witherspoon's  "  address  to  the 
senior  class,  on  the  Lord's  day  preceding  commencement ;"  which 
was  first  published  in  1783.  Ever  since  the  writer  has  been  in  his 
present  office,  he  has  not  only  directed  the  attention  of  his  pupils  to 
this  address,  but  in  their  senior  year  has  prescribed  it  as  the  subject 
of  study  and  examination,  at  the  close  of  their  course  of  Moral  Phi- 
losophy. It  is  believed  that  it  will  not  be  easy  to  find  elsewhere, 
within  the  same  compass,  so  much  useful  and  appropriate  advice  to 
liberally  educated  youth,  as  is  contained  in  this  address.  Having 
experienced  through  the  whole  of  his  past  life,  the  benefit  of  the 
deep  impression  which  this  excellent  composition  made  on  his  own 
mind  when  entering  on  the  world,  the  -^riter  earnestly  recommends 
its  repeated  and  careful  perusal  to  every  youthful  reader ;  especially 
to  such  as  are  looking  forward  to  the  liberal  professions,  or  to  litera- 
ry pursuits  of  whatever  kind.  It  is  the  matured  production  of  a  man 
of  piety,  erudition,  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  deep  insight  into 
human  nature. 

NOTE  Q—Fa^e  88. 
Deeply  sensible,  as  the  author  is,  that  no  attainment  in  science  can 
ever  compensate  for  the  loss,  or  the  lasting  injury  of  moral  principle 
and  purity ;   still  he  is  not  prepared  to  go   the  length  of  those,  who 


NOTES.  407 

"would  proscribe  the  reading  of  the  ancient  classick  authors,  in  a 
course  of  liberal  education.  Without  the  careful  reading  of  these 
authors,  it  is  in  vain  to  expect  that  classical  literature  will  ever  be 
fully  acquired;  and  it  is  this  literature  which  furnishes,  at  once,  the 
"best  basis  for  the  superstructure  of  all  liberal  knowledge,  and  the  key- 
by  which  many  of  the  apartments  must  be  unlocked,  in  wliich  some  of 
its  richest  treasures  are  lodged.  Reasons  of  the  most  conclusive  kind 
are  necessary,  to  justify  the  rejection  or  disuse  of  the  means,  by 
which  such  advantages  are  to  be  acquired.  Reasons  of  this  character 
the  writer  has  never  yet  heard  alleged.  The  objection  which  is  com- 
monly taken  from  the  heathen  mythology,  has  with  him  little  weight. 
He  rather  believes  that  a  full  acquaintance  with  that  mythology,  is 
not  calculated  to  impress  the  youthful  mind  with  any  sentiments  in 
its  favour;  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  shew  impressively  the  sottish- 
ness  of  idolatry,  and  the  infinite  importance  and  value  of  divine  rev- 
.elation.  Some  passages  of  gross  impurity  are  very  properly  omitted, 
in  the  best  editions  of  the  ancient  classicks  which  are  intended  for 
youth;  and  other  omissions  may  be  made,  at  the  discrttiwn  of  a  ju- 
dicious teacher. 

The  mischief  chiefly  to  be  apprehended  from  a  familiarity  with 
these  writings,  and  to  which  there  is  a  reference  in  the  discourse,  is 
believed  to  be  the  very  same  which  may  be  produced,  and  often  i.'? 
produced,  by  reading  many  publications  of  literary  merit,  in  our  own 
language — The  reader  is  in  danger  of  imbibing  the  sentiments  and 
spirit  of  the  authors  that  he  frequently  peruses  and  greatly  admires. 
From  this  cause,  probably,  it  has  not  seldom  happened,  that  an  im- 
moderate thirst  of  fame  has  been  contracted;  that  the  heroick  mili- 
tary character,  with  all  its  vices  and  vileness,  has  been  approved  and 
emulated;  that  the  principles  of  pride,  of  resentment  and  revenge,  of 
worldly  honour  and  unbounded  ambition,  have  been  implanted  and 
strongly  radicated;  that  licentious  pleasures  and  indulgences  have  no 
longer  been  esteemed  criminal,  but  have  come  to  be  rcgai'ded  and 
sought,  as  the  proper  appendages  of  a  fashionable  character  and  an 
aspiring  mind ;  in  a  word  that  a  system  of  views  and  opinions  has  been 
acquired  and  cherished,  directly  and  malignantly  hostile  to  the  en- 
tire spirit,  principles  and  doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  Here,  it  is  believ- 
ed, is  the  real  danger;  and  a  danger  it  certainlj*  is,  of  a  very  serious 
and  alarming  character.    The  inquiry  is,  how  shall  it  be  avoided  or 
counteracted.^    Can  it  be  avoided  by  always  keeping  youth,  whose 
business  it  is  to  read  and  extend  their  knov/ledgc,  from  perusing 
those  writings  from  which  the  danger  arises.^  Nay,  if  it  be,  as  it  cer- 
tainly is,  from  educated  men  that  we  are  to  expect  the  correction  of 
cirror  and  vice,  how,  it  may  be  asked,  caii  they  be  qualified  to  aduiin- 


408  S^OTES. 

ister  this  correction,  without  some  accurate  knowledge  of  the  sources 
and  nature  of  the  errors  and  vices  which  prevail?  Ought  not  even  a 
candidate  for  the  Gospel  ministry  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the 
heathen  mythology,  and  with  the  spirit  and  opinions  of  the  heathen 
writers  generally  ?  It  will  not  be  fair  to  say,  that  the  answer  which  the 
author  plainly  intends  should  be  given  to  these  questions,  will  go  to 
justify  the  perusal  of  all  the  books  of  uncleanness,  or  of  blasphemy,  to 
which  a  scholar  may  gain  access.  Such  compositions,  at  least  among 
us,  must  be  searched  after ^  or  they  will  not  be  found.  The  authors  and 
publishers  of  such  works  ought  to  receive  the  heaviest  punishment 
due  to  the  corruptors  of  society ;  and  the  youth  who  seeks  for  them, 
manifests  a  disposition  to  vice  and  a  strength  of  depravity,  which 
call  for  the  most  rigorous  restraint  and  discipline.  The  reading  from 
which  the  author  believes  that  studious  youth  cannot,  and  ought  not 
to  be  precluded,  is  that  which  has  literary  taste  and  reputation  on 
its  side,  and  without  which  the  weapons  of  virtue  themselves  cannot 
be  wielded  to  the  greatest  advantage.  It  is  that  ,which  the  scholar 
who  should  attempt  to  avoid,  must  not  merely  shun  the  ancient  clas- 
sicks,  he  "  must  needs  go  out  of  the  world" — 

*'  Est  modus  in  rebus;  sunt  certi  denique  fines, 
Quos  ultra,  citraque  nequit  consistere  rectum." 

If,  then,  it  is  no  longer  worth  while  to  inquire  whether  it  would 
not  be  better  if  a  youth  should  never  see  a  book  of  the  kind  con- 
templated, since  the  thing  is  impossible — the  only  remaining  inquiry 
is,  whether  he  would  not  better  meet  his  danger  under  the  guidance 
and  protection  of  a  discreet  and  pious  leader,  than  be  left  to  encoun- 
ter it  afterwards,  by  himself.  The  author  thinks  that  it  ought  to  be 
a  part  of  his  education,  to  show  him  his  danger  distinctly,  and  to 
teach  him  how  to  escape  it;  and  he  believes  that  the  most  effectual 
way  to  accomplish  this,  is  to  mingle  the  study  of  the  Bible  with  the 
study  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  classicks. 

If,  indeed,  scholarship  alone  were  in  question,  why  should  not  the 
oldest,  and  in  every  view  the  best  book  in  the  world,  be  studied,  in 
a  course  of  liberal  education  ?  Why  should  not  the  antiquities — the 
manners  and  customs,  the  history  and  poetry,  of  the  Hebrews,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  be  considered  as  an  impor- 
tant attainment  for  every  scholar.  Why  should  he  not  be  made 
acquainted  with  the  source  from  which  many  of  the  laws  and  usages, 
as  well  as  the  whole  religion  of  his  country,  have  been  derived  .^ 
Will  he  always  acquire  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  sacred  scrip- 
tures in  his  domestick  education,  or  by  a  perusal  of  them  as  a  matter 
of  his  own  choice  i*  Alas !  it  is  a  fact  equally  notorious  and  shameful. 


NOTES.  409 

that  men  of  liberal  education  are  sometimes  more  ignorant  of  the 
Bible,  than  of  almost  any  other  book  of  reputation. 

As  a  corrective  of  the  erroneous  principles,  not  only  of  the  Greek 
and  Roman  writers,  but  of  many  in  our  own,  and  perhaps  in  ever)  mod- 
ern language,  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  important  beyond 
estimation.  They  afford  a  pure  and  perfect  standard — the  only  one 
■which  exists — of  moral  principle  and  action.  If  the  youthful  mind 
be  thoroughly  imbued  with  tlie  doctrines  which  they  teach,  and  be 
rationally  convinced — as  it  may,  even  without  practical  piety,  be 
convinced,  of  the  unspeakable  superiority  of  the  revealed  system  to 
every  thing  which  is  hostile  to  it  in  the  productions  of  uninspired 
men,  the  best  possible  security  will  be  provided  against  the  danger 
in  contemplation.  Nay,  we  may  safely  go  farther  and  affirm,  that 
the  very  reading  which  otherwise  might  have  been  pernicious,  will 
now,  probably,  become  in  a  high  degree  useful.  It  may  not  only  be 
the  source  of  much  valuable  information  and  improvement,  which 
every  scholar  ought  to  possess,  but  may  serve  strikingly  to  demon- 
strate the  necessity  of  a  divine  revelation,  by  showing  into  what 
monstrous  absurdities  and  errors  the  human  mind  has  always  been 
betrayed,  on  the  subjects  of  religion  and  morals,  when  left  to  its  own 
unaided  efforts  ;  and  how  men  of  the  most  powerful  intellect  are  sure 
to  mistake,  and  to  mislead  others,  whenever  they  are  ignorant,  or 
forgetful,  or  regardless  of  this  unerring  guide. 

If  during  the  whole  period  of  a  classical  education,  those  parts  of 
the  christian  Sabbath  which  are  not  occupied  in  publick  worship, 
and  in  other  exercises  proper  to  the  day  of  sacred  rest,  should  be 
employed  in  the  study  of  the  sacred  writings,  as  much  knowledge  of 
them  would  be  obtained  as  would  be  amply  sufficient  for  all  the  pur- 
poses to  which  the  author  has  here  supposed  that  the  knowledge  of 
them  should  be  applied  ;  provided  only  that  the  application  be  imme- 
diately,  and    assiduously,   and  discreetly   made,  by    the  teachers 
of  youth.     Let  the  teacher  remark  to  his  pupils,  in  the  most  engag- 
ing and  impressive  manner  he  can  devise,  on  all  the  erroneous  prin- 
ciples and  sentiments  which  occur  in  classical  reading.     Let  him 
shew  their  unreasonableness  and  their  evil  tendency  ;  let  him  point 
out  their  contrariety  and  their  inferiority,  to  the  holy  doctrines  and 
precepts,  and  to  the  faultless  morality  of  divine  revelation.    When 
the  scriptures  are  recited,  let  obscurities  and  difficulties  be  explained, 
and  the  lessons  of  practical  instruction,  derivable  from  the  particular 
portion  before  the  student,  be  clearly  educed  and  affectionately  incul- 
cated.    Let  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament  be  often 
stated,  and  its  pure,  and  meek,  and  gentle,  and  forgiving,  and  pa- 
tient, and  benevolent  spirit,  be  set  in  contrast  with  the  direct  oppp- 

G3 


410  NOTES- 

sites  of  such  a  spirit,  as  exemplified  and  recommended  in  other  com- 
positions. Let  the  perfect  character  of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world 
be  often  exhibited  and  dwelt  on  ;  and  let  the  example  of  the  holy 
apostles  and  other  eminent  saints,  as  recorded  in  the  sacred  writings, 
be  recommended  to  the  attention  and  imitation  of  the  young — Let  this 
be  done,  with  fidelity  and  perseverance,  and  it  is  believed  that  not  only 
will  the  reading  of  the  ancient  classicks  be  without  injury,  but  that  the 
most  effectual  means  will  be  used  to  neutralise  all  the  deleterious 
matter  which  liberally  educated  youth  will  meet  v/ith,  in  the  various 
books  which  they  may  and  ought  to  peruse.  A  seed  of  divine  truth 
will,  moreover,  be  implanted  in  their  minds,  which,  in  some  season 
of  seriousness,  and  under  the  life  giving  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  all 
grace,  may  spring  up,  and  bring  forth  fruit  unto  life  everlasting. 
That  the  plan  here  recommended  will  require  patient  and  laborious 
efforts  to  carry  it  into  effect,  is  admitted  ;  but  the  object  sought  is 
surely  worth  all  the  pains  and  endeavours  which  are  necessary  to 
obtain  it. 

In  what  the  author  has  here  said  on  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, he  has  not  been  proposing  a  mere  speculation,  or  an  untried 
and  uncertain  theory.  He  has  stated  what  he  has,  for  himself,  made 
a  matter  of  experiment ;  the  good  effects  of  which  he  has  seen,  and 
in  which  he  hopes  to  rejoice  in  the  most  solemn  crisis  of  his  exis- 
tence. He  here  bears  his  testimony  to  the  practical  efficacy  and 
manifest  utility  of  this  plan,  of  mingling  the  study  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  with  all  the  other  studies  of  a  literary  institution.  And  with 
the  utmost  deference,  he  earnestly  recommends  the  serious  conside- 
ration of  it,  to  all  who  have  the  sacred  charge  of  directing  the  read- 
ing and  forming  the  minds  of  youth.  Among  the  means  which  are 
used  to  evangelize  the  world,  it  is  his  belief  that  one  of  the  most 
powerful  would  be,  to  evangelize  the  course  of  a  liberal  education  ;• 
and  he  hopes  the  day  is  approaching  when  this  will  be  generally 
seen;  when  the  salt  of  revealed  truth  shall  so  heal  the  fountains  of 
science,  that  all  the  streams  which  issue  from  them  *'  shall  make 
glad  the  city  of  God." 

NOTE  G-^Fage  94. 
[This  letter,  by  an  error  of  the  press,  is  here  used  for  reference  a 

second  time.] 

The  author  had  occasion,  about  sixteen  years  ago,  to  explain 
somewhat  more  at  large,  and  in  opposition  to  the  militating  er- 
rors, the  principles  which  he  maintains  and  inculcates  in  this  part 
of  his  discourse;  and  he  has  determined  to  insert  in  the  present 
note  what  was  then  written.  At  the  time  referred  to,  he  was  en- 


NOTES.  411 

^aged,  with  a  highly  respectable  coadjutor,  to  review  those  articles 
in  Rees'  Cyclopxdia,  which  relate  to  moral  and  religious  subjects; 
that  the  American  edition  of  the  work  might,  at  least,  contain  an 
antidote  to  the  Socinian  poison,  Avhich  was  plentifully  diffused  through 
the  first  volumes  of  the  English  copy.  It  was  under  the  article 
Angel,  that  the  offensive  paragraph  appeared,  to  which  the  sub-? 
joined  extract  was  introduced  as  a  reply. — The  paragraph  is  as 
follows : 

"  According  to  the  opinion  of  those  who  maintain  the  fall  of  an- 
gels, they  arc  represented  as  being  cast  out  of  Heaven,  abandoned 
to  iniquity,  and  making  it  their  business  to  seduce  mankind,  and 
taking  pleasure  in  doing  them  all  kinds  of  injury.  Others,  howev- 
er, among  whom  we  may  reckon  Dr.  Priestley,  consider  the  fall  of 
angels  as  very  problematical ;  and  though  it  cannot  be  said  that 
the  tiling  is  absolutely  impossible,  yet  they  conceive  that  it  seems, 
upon  the  face  of  it,  to  be  very  improbable.  Besides,  if  such  exalted 
beings  as  these  are  supposed  to  have  sinned,  and  to  have  thereby 
become  obnoxious  to  the  divine  displeasure,  what  end,  they  ask, 
could  it  answer  to  them  to  be  so  assiduous  in  seducing  mankind  ^ 
Indeed,  upon  the  supposition  that  their  existence  and  torments  were 
to  be  everlasting,  it  may  be  conceived  to  give  them  a  kind  of  gloomy 
satisfaction  to  have  "  brethren  in  iniquity"  for  their  companions  in 
their  sufferings.  Priestley's  Institutes,  vol.  ii.  p.  433.  Bekker,  of 
Amsterdam,  maintains,  that  the  word  translated  "  angels,"  in  Jude 
v.  6,  and  also  2.  Peter  ii.  4,  should  be  "messengers;  [alleging] 
that  here  is  no  reference  to  fallen  angels,  but  to  the  history  of  the 
persons  sent  out  by  Moses  to  spy  out,  and  make  report  of  the  land 
of  Canaan,  and  to  their  false  and  wicked  account,  so  as  to  discourage 
their  countrymen  from  obeying  the  divine  command."  On  this  par- 
agraph the  author  made  the  subsequent  remarks — 

We  are  expressly  told  by  Christ  himself  that  at  the  general  judg- 
ment he  will  say  to  the  wicked,  "  Depart  from  me  ye  cursed  into 
everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels."  To  the 
Jews  he  said  "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil — he  is  a  liar  and  the 
father  of  it — a  murderer  from  the  beginning."  We  are  also  inform- 
ed that  Christ  was  "  led  up  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted  of 
the  devil ;"  that  "  the  tempter  came  to  him  ;"  and  a  detailed  ac- 
count is  given  of  the  very  words  and  artifices  that  were  used  in  the 
temptation,  and  of  the  replies  and  defeat  which  they  received  from 
the  Saviour.  The  author  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  states,  that  it 
was  a  part  of  the  work  of  Christ,  when  on  earth,  "  to  heal  all  those 
that  were  oppressed  of  the  devil;"  and  a  large  portion  of  the  evan- 
gelic history  is  employed  in  giving  us  au  account  of  those  who  were 


413  NOTES. 

thus  healed.  By  the  apostle  Paul,  we  are  warned  "  not  to  give  place 
to  the  devil;"  taught  how  "we  may  be  able  to  stand  against  the 
wiles  of  the  devil ;"  apprised  of  the  danger  of  "  falling  into  the  con- 
demnation of  the  devil ;"  shewn  how  those  who  have  fallen  may  "  re- 
cover themselves  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil ;"  and  told  that  there 
are  certain  doctrines  which  are  "  doctrines  of  devils."  St.  James 
gives  this  admonition — "  Resist  the  devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you;'* 
he  assures  us  that  the  "  devils  believe  and  tremble ;"  and  that  there 
is  a  kind  of  wisdom  that  is  "  earthly,  sensual,  devilish."  The  author 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  declares,  that  Christ  died  "  that  he 
might  destroy  him  who  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil." 
The  same  thing  is  taught  by  St.  John,  who  testifies,  that  "for  this 
purpose  the  Son  of  God  was  manifested,  that  he  might  destroy  the 
work  of  the  devil;"  and  adds,  that  *'  he  that  committeth  sin  is  of  the 
devil."  St,  Peter  exhorts  his  brethren  in  this  language :  "  Be  sober, 
be  vigilant;  because  your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion, 
walketh  about  seeking  whom  he  may  devour ;  whom  resist  steadfast 
in  the  faith."  The  same  apostle,  in  his  second  epistle,  informs  us 
that  "  God  spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned,  but  cast  them  down  to 
hell,  and  delivered  them  into  chains  of  darkness  to  be  reserved  unto 
judgment."  This  coincides  exactly  with  what  we  are  told  by  St. 
Jude,  who  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  quoted  Peter,  with  a  little 
amplification,  where  he  says:  "The  angels  which  kept  not  their 
first  state,  but  left  their  own  habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  ever- 
lasting chains,  under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day." 
The  writer  of  the  Apocalypse  speaks  more  than  once  of  "  the  old 
serpent,  which  is  the  devil  and  satan,"  of  his  influence  and  instru- 
ments, and  of  their  final  and  eternal  perdition.  All  this,  and  abun- 
dantly more  than  this,  we  are  taught  in  the  New  Testament,  about 
those  apostate  and  fallen  angels  who  are  commonly  called  devils, 
and  the  chief  or  prince  of  whom  appears  to  be  denominated,  by  way 
of  eminence,  "  the  devil  and  satan."  The  selections  have  been  made 
with  a  particular  view  to  shew  that  there  is  not  a  single  writer  of 
this  part  of  the  sacred  canon  who  does  not  speak,  in  the  plainest  and 
most  express  terms,  of  these  evil  sjiii'its^  and  in  a  manner  which 
shews  that  their  existence  and  agency  is  not  to  be  doubted.  And  are 
we,  notwithstanding  this,  to  be  gravely  informed  by  writers  pi-o- 
fessing  Christianity,  that  they  "  consider  the  fall  of  angels  as  very 
problematical;  and  though  it  cannot  be  said,  that  the  thing  is  abso- 
lutely impossible,  yet  they  conceive  that  it  seems,  upon  the  face  of 
it,  to  be  very  improbable  ?"  What !  "  very  proolematical,"  and  "  upon 
thefaceof  it  very  improbable,"  when  the  fact  is  attested  by  Christ,  and 
by  all  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament!  Yes,  exactly  so.   But  can 


NOTE?.  413 

those  who  talk  at  this  rate  justly  claim  to  be  considered  as  chris- 
tians at  all?  No,  assuredly.  And  when  men  who  must  be  active, 
have  in  their  hearts  taken  the  side,  it  is  earnestly  to  be  wished  that 
tliey  would  openly  appear  in  the  ranks  of  infidelity  :  that  thus  they 
might  no  longer  possess  the  advantage  of  thrusting  at  religion,  under 
the  guise  of  friendship  ;  nor  of  betraying  her  sacred  cause  to  the  en- 
my  by  a  pretended  defence,  or  by  weakening  or  throwing  down  the 
ramparts  on  which  her  safety  depends. 

Christians  may  reduce  all  questions  of  controversy  in  regard  to 
their  religion,  to  the  two  following,  which  they  would  do  well  often 
to  place  distinctly  before  them  :  First,  is  the  Scripture  the  word  of 
God  ? — Secondly,  Is  any  doctrine,  fact,  or  proposition,  whicli  is  made 
the  subject  of  inquiry  or  speculation,  contained  in  that  word  ?  On  the 
first  of  these  questions  believers  have  their  controversy  with  pro- 
fessed infidels  :  the  second  furnishes  the  ground  of  many  debates 
among  christians  themselves.  But  the  matter  which  arises  out  of 
these  questions,  severally,  ought  never  to  be  mixed.  If  a  man  profess 
to  receive  the  Scripture  as  a  divine  revelation,  he  forecloses  all  con- 
troversy about  its  authority ;  because  the  word  of  God  is  a  much 
better  security  for  truth  than  any  deductions  of  human  reason.  He 
may  have  difficulties  in  explaining  or  vindicating  some  truths  which 
he  receives  under  the  sanction  of  a  divine  warrant,  but  still  he  is  not 
to  deny  those  truths.  This  appears,  in  fact,  to  have  been  the  under- 
standing of  almost  every  writer  of  reputation  on  the  subjects  of  chris- 
tian controversy,  till  lately.  Those  who  were  supposed  to  wish  for  a 
greater  latitude,  did  not  choose  openly  to  avow  it.  \V  ithin  a  few 
years,  however,  the  Socinians,  finding  it  impracticable  fairly  to  de- 
fend their  creed  against  the  artillery  of  revelation,  with  which  their 
opponents  were  likely  to  demolish  it,  have  sought  arms  and  aid  from 
the  camp  of  infidelity.  They  have  contended,  at  one  time,  like  chris- 
tians, and  at  another,  like  deists,  and  often  have  alternately  taken  the 
ground,  and  used  the  weapons,  of  both  parties  in  the  same  combat. 
This  system  they  did  not  adopt  all  at  once,  nor  without  some  caution 
and  address.  At  first,  they  seemed  only  to  be  carrying  to  the  point 
of  perfection  a  plan  on  which  they  had,  in  some  measure,  acted,  from 
the  days  of  Socinus  himself.  They  employed  much  art  and  assiduity 
to  shew  that  the  sacred  writings  had  suffered  greatly  by  some  impor- 
tant interpolations,  and  by  numerous  and  gross  corruptions.  Much, 
likewise,  was  said  to  inculcate  the  belief  that  a  great  part  of  the  in- 
spired volume  ought  to  be  considered  merely  as  allegorical,  or  so 
highly  figurative  that  no  precise  intellectual  truth,  or  well  defined 
doctrine,  can  satisfactorily  be  derived  from  it ;  that  it  admits  of  many 
ijiterpretationsj  and  may  be  made  to  consist  with  that  which  is  given 


414  NOTES. 

by  them,  as  well  as  with  any  other.  These  are  the  limits  to  which 
some  of  the  corps  still  confine  themselves.  '  Others,  however,  among 
whom  we  may  reckon  Dr.  Priestley,  Bekker  of  Amsterdam,'  and  a 
host  of  German  Socinians,  have  been  less  scrupulous,  and  have  pro- 
ceeded to  far  greater  lengths.  They  do  not  all  exactly  agi-ee  in  the 
same  representations,  for  they  love  to  appear  not  to  act  in  concert. 
Among  them,  however,  they  have  not  merely  insinuated,  but  pro- 
fessedly maintained,  that  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles,  though  they 
were  honest  good  men,  and  at  times  much  favoured  of  heaven, 
(Christ  being  the  chief  of  the  prophets)  yet  were  not  only  liable  to 
err,  but  did  actually  err  and  teach  their  errors  to  others;  that  they 
quoted  Scripture,  from  the  Old  Testament,  very  incorrectly,  and  ap- 
plied it  ver}^  fancifully  and  absurdly ;  that  they  were  taught  many 
Jewish  dogmas  that  were  utterly  false,  which  they  either  received 
as  truths  themselves,  or  else,  knowing  them  not  to  be  true,  not  only 
did  not  undeceive  their  followers,  but  inculcated  falsehood  as  if  it 
had  been  truth— and  such  a  falseliood,  they  especially  insist,  is  the  doc- 
trine, that  there  is  a  devil  or  evil  spirit;  that  the  apostle  Paul  is  fre- 
quently a  very  inconclusive  reasoner,  adopting  principles  that  are  un- 
sound, and  forming  conclusions  that  are  untenable ;  that  we  have  no 
reason  to  believe  that  there  was  any  thing  miraculous  in  the  concep- 
tion of  our  blessed  Lord,  but  that  he  ought  rather  to  be  considered 
as  the  natural  son  of  Joseph.  We  are  too  much  shocked  and  dis- 
gusted to  proceed  with  this  detail,  though  there  are  ample  materials 
for  the  purpose. 

Thus,  then,  this  class  of  Socinians  claim  to  bring  the  whole  Scrip- 
ture before  the  bar  of  their  own  reason,  and  to  pronounce  the  sen- 
tence of  falsehood  on  as  much  of  it  as  to  them  may  seem  meet — not 
because  it  is  corrupted  or  interpolated,  not  because  the  v/riters  are 
misrepresented,  but  because  they  actually  taught  what  is  erroneous^ 
and,  for  that  reason,  ought  to  be  corrected  or  condemned.  The  only 
point  in  which  they  differ  from  acknov/ledged  infidels  is,  in  admit- 
ting that  the  Scripture,  after  all,  contains  a  revelation  from  God ; 
though  they  will  by  no  means  consent  to  specify  wliat  are  the  par- 
ticular parts  which  they  will  recognize  as  such,  anti  by  w^hich  they 
will  abide  as  the  divine  word,  and  the  umpire  of  controversy.  Fre- 
quently and  earnestly  have  they  been  pressed  to  do  this,  but  they 
have  never  done  it.  Kence  it  is  that  controversy  with  them  becomes 
endless,  because  it  is  impossible  to  terminate  it,  while  the  parties 
have  no  common  authority  or  principles  to  which  they  may  appeal. 
Hence,  also,  Deism,  open  and  unreserved,  has  been  most  extensively 
propagated,  through  the  medium  of  Socinianism.  For,  if  the  Bible 
be  that  interpolated,  corrupted,  allegorical  and  erroneous  book, 


NOTES.  415 

which  these  men  would  make  it,  common  sense  revolts  at  the  idea 
of  receiving  it  as  a  revelation  from  God,  and  a  guide  to  future  hap- 
piness. If  all  its  doctrines  and  principles  are  at  last  to  be  subjected 
to  every  man's  own  decision  whether  they  shall  be  received  or  re- 
jected, why  not  consult  your  reason  alone  and  at  once  ?  Why  bring 
the  master  to  the  scholar,  when  you  know  beforehand  that  much 
which  he  will  say  will  be  weak,  and  empty,  and  erroneous  ?  It  is 
easier,  say  infidels,  to  believe,  not  only  all  the  mysteries,  but  all  the 
superstitions,  that  christians  ever  received,  than  to  believe  that  the 
infinitely  wise  and  good  God  has  given  mankind  the  revelation  of 
his  will  in  such  a  form  as  this.  And  here,  for  once,  we  declare  our- 
selves of  their  opinion.  But,  so  far  from  rejecting  revelation  as  the 
consequence,  we  contend  for  receiving  and  maintaining  it  simply  and 
entirely  as  we  find  it  in  the  Bible,  in  the  originals  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments.  Let  these  originals  be  the  subject  of  diligent  study 
and  of  sound  and  reverent  criticism.  On  the  score  of  emendation,  let 
them  be  treated  as  respectfully,  at  least,  as  the  copies  of  the  best 
heathen  writers,  than  which  they  have  been  much  better  guarded 
against  corruption.  In  this  manner,  let  us  discover  what  revelation 
teaches;  and  then  let  us  receive  it  with  docility,  humility  and  thank- 
fulness, as  the  word  of  life.  Let  us  not  bring  to  the  study  of  tlie 
Scripture  a  system  already  formed  in  our  own  minds  and  fortified 
by  prejudice;  but  let  us  go  to  it  in  the  first  instance,  and  without 
prejudice,  to  learn  what  is  the  system  which  we  ought  to  receive. 
With  the  temper  of  children,  let  us  sit  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour, 
imbibe  his  instructions  and  obey  liis  precepts.  As  far  as  we  are  able, 
let  us  explain  what  is  difficult;  but  when  we  can  go  no  farther  let  us 
treat  the  difilculties  of  revelation  as  we  do  those  of  the  other  works 
of  God — as  we  do  the  profound,  obscure  and  contradictory  things 
which  appear  in  creation  and  providence,  and  in  regard  to  which  the 
best  philosophers  are  always  the  readiest  frankly  to  confess  their  ig- 
norance. Let  us  not  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  that  there  are  certain 
things  which,  for  the  present,  we  do  not  fully  understand  ;  and  let  us 
wait  for  more  light  in  this  world,  or  for  stronger  faculties  in  the 
world  to  come.  The  maxims  of  sound  reason  and  philosophy,  not 
less  than  the  injunctions  of  the  Gospel,  point  out  to  us  this  course. 

So  much  for  this  suljject  in  general,  which  it  seemed  necessary  a 
little  to  discuss,  and  for  which  this  appeared  as  proper  a  place  as 
any.  Since,  indeed,  it  has  been  determined  that  nothing  which  ap- 
pears in  "  Rees's  New  Cyclop?edia"  shall  henceforth  be  omitted  in 
the  American  edition  of  the  work,  we  thought  it  incumbent  to  avow, 
and  we  have  accordingly  here  avowed,  the  principles  which  will 
govern  us  in  examining  and  remarking  on  the  moral  and  theological 


416  iNOTES. 

opinions  'vhich  it  exhibits.  We  are  sensible  that  this  is  an  arduous, 
an  important,  and  a  delicate  duty.  We  have  approached  it,  not  with- 
out undissembled  diffidence  in  our  ability  to  discharge  it  worthily. 
In  its  execution  we  believe  that  we  can  promise  diligence  and  vigi- 
lancCy  and  v/e  shall  endeavour  not  to  transgress  the  prescriptions  of 
decorum,  the  laws  of  candour,  nor  the  demands  of  christian  meek- 
ness. With  all  this,  however,  we  believe  it  to  be  perfectly  consistent 
to  say,  that  it  will  be  matter  of  little  concern  to  us  in  what  class  of 
living  literary  merit  the  name  may  be  enrolled,  or  in  what  niche  of 
the  temple  of  fame  the  statue  may  be  found,  of  him  who  has  touched 
irreverently  the  hallowed  depository  of  God's  revealed  will.  In  the 
best  manner  we  can,  we  will  withstand  his  audacity,  expose  his  im- 
piety, and  invest  him  with  his  proper  character;  for  we  believe,  with 
Young,  that  "  with  the  talents  of  an  angel  a  man  may  be  a  fool.'' 
Those  who  sympathize  with  heretics  and  infidels  will  in  vain  endeav- 
our to  turn  us  from  our  purpose.  Our  work  is  sacred,  and  we  dare 
not  slight  it;  our  responsibility  is  not  only  to  man  but  to  God. 

In  regard  to  the  section  which  has  given  occasion  to  this  explana- 
tion, little  farther  need  be  said.  As  all  who  believe  in  the  existence  of 
fallen  angels  adopt  "  the  supposition  that  their  existence  and  torments 
w  ill  be  everlasting,"  it  is  admitted  by  the  sage  objector  himself,  that 
"  it  may  be  supposed  to  give  them  a  kind  of  gloomy  satisfaction  to  have 
brethren  in  iniquity  for  their  companions  in  their  sufferings;"  and 
consequently  an  answer  is  given  to  the  question,  "  what  end  could 
it  ansv/er  to  them  to  be  so  assiduous  in  seducing  mankind?"  But  to 
this  we  will  add,  that  as  these  evil  spirits  are  uniformly  represent- 
ed as  being  filled  with  malignity  against  God,  so  it  is  the  natural  ex- 
pression of  this  infernal  temper  to  endeavour  to  dishonour  him  in  his 
works,  one  of  the  noblest  of  which  is  his  creature  man.  As  to  the 
criticisms  of  Bekker  on  the  passages  in  Jude  and  Peter,  we  think 
that  whoever  will  consult  the  context  of  the  places  referred  to  will 
want  no  other  evidence  to  convince  him  that  the  remark  is  wholly 
without  foundation.  The  passage  in  Peter,  particularly,  cannot  pos- 
sibly admit  of  the  construction  that  has  been  given  it;  as  "  the  his- 
tory of  the  persons  sent  out  by  Moses  to  spy  out  and  make  report  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,"  has  no  more  to  do  with  the  subject  which  the 
apostle  is  there  treating  of,  than  the  history  of  the  American  revolu- 
tion. 

NOTE  n^Page  124. 

The  eulogy  of  deceased  friends  is  often  extravagant,  and  parental 
eulogy  is  more  likely  to  be  so  than  perhaps  any  other.  Sensible  of 
this,  and  yet  resolved,  in  leaving  a  memorial  of  a  beloved  first-born 


NOTES.  417 

son,  to  indulge  himself  a  little  more  in  a  note,  than  he  thought  pro- 
per to  do  in  a  sermon,  the  author  has  determined  to  make  a  brief 
statement  of  facts,  and  a  short  extract  from  his  diary,  written  at  the 
time  of  his  son's  death ;  and  to  leave  them  to  be  estimated  by  the 
reader,  as  he  shall  think  right.  There  are  many  friends  and  asso- 
ciates of  the  deceased,  who  will  be  able  to  judge  how  much  of  what 
is  said  should  be  imputed  to  parental  partiality,  and  how  much  might 
have  been  said  by  one  who  had  no  such  bias.  The  writer  can  only 
declare,  that  the  representation  which  is  here  made,  is  in  strict  ac- 
cordance with  liis  own  apprehensions  of  the  truth. 

Robert  Stockton  Green  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
July  30th,  1787.  He  was  educated  at  Nassau-Hall,  and  graduated  in 
September,  1805.  After  an  illness  of  about  two  weeks,  he  died  in 
Boston,  at  the  house  of  a  most  kind  and  sympathizing  friend,  Ebene- 
zer  Rockwood,  esq.  on  a  return  from  a  journey,  September  28th, 
1813,  in  the  27th  year  of  his  age.  His  remains  were  deposited  in  the 
family  vault  of  Samuel  Dexter,  esq.  whose  benevolence  and  gene- 
rosity, in  granting  this  honourable  circumstance  of  sepulture,  will 
ever  be  held  by  the  friends  of  the  deceased  in  the  most  grateful  re- 
membrance. The  subject  of  this  memorial  experienced  no  pain  in 
the  sickness  which  proved  mortal,  and  was  not  supposed  to  be  dan- 
gerously ill,  by  his  friends  and  physician,  till  a  little  before  his  death. 
He  retained  the  exercise  of  his  reason  till  a  few  hours  before  his 
dissolution,  and  was  observed  by  his  nurse,  throughout  his  last  ill- 
ness, to  be  apparently  engaged  in  frequent  acts  of  devotion,  as  he  lay 
on  his  bed.  By  the  hand  of  a  friend,  he  wrote  to  his  father  a  most 
affectionate  letter,  a  few  days  before  he  died,  and  with  his  own  hand, 
the  day  before  his  death,  he  wrote  a  sentence  or  two,  acknowledging 
his  many  obligations  to  his  travelling  companion,  William  Appleton, 
esq.  and  recommending  him,  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  to  the 
attention  of  his  father.  On  being  apprized  of  his  death,  the  author 
wrote  in  his  diary  as  follows: — 

Doubtless  I  have  the  partiality  of  a  parent ;  and  affection,  awakened 
by  the  death  of  a  favourite  child,  is  apt  to  magnify  his  amiable  qual- 
ities. This,  notwithstanding,  I  believe  I  may  say  with  truth,  that 
few  parents  could  lose  in  a  child,  as  much  as  I  have  lost  in  mine. — 
In  his  person  he  was  tall  and  well  r  ide,  and  had  a  most  expressive 
and  pleasing  countenance.  He  was  distinguished  by  an  amenity  of 
temper,  and  a  gracefulness  and  elegance  of  manners,  very  rarely 
seen.  He  was  frank,  candid,  facetious,  hospitable  and  kind.  He  had 
acquired  more  knowledge,  and  of  more  various  kinds,  than  any 
other  individual  of  his  years,  that  I  have  ever  personally  known ; 
not  so  much,  however,  as  several  extraordinarv  youth  of  whom  I 

H3 


418  NOTES. 

have  read.  He  was  becoming  eminent  as  a  lawyer ;  and  was,  I  be- 
lieve, without  a  rival,  of  his  own  standing,  both  as  to  distinction  and 
prospects.  He  was  a  critick  in  his  own  language,  and  a  handsome 
and  eloquent  speaker. 

He  had  a  full  belief  in  divine  revelation;  not  the  effect  merely  of 
education,  but  of  close  and  profound  examination,  terminating  in  a 
thorough  and  unwavering  conviction  of  its  truth  and  authority.  On 
the  deistical  controversy  he  had  read  much,  and  understood  it  famil- 
iarly in  all  its  parts  and  bearings ;  so  that  he  could  sooner  and  more 
completely  put  an  infidel  to  silence,  than  any  other  man  whom  I 
have  ever  known.  He  was  well  versed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
was  orthodox  in  the  great  outlines  of  his  religious  creed.  Talking  to 
a  friend,  a  little  before  his  death,  about  the  Unitarian  system,  he 
said,  "  take  from  the  Gospel  the  divinity  and  atonement  of  Christ, 
and  you  leave  little  of  importance  behind."  He  was  free  from  vice, 
and  a  constant  and  reverential  attendant  on  publick  worship.  His 
seriousness  was  growing,  and  had  manifestly  increased  within  the 
last  year  of  his  life.  Whether  it  had  ripened  into  vital  practical 
piety,  is  known  to  God,  in  whose  hands  I  leave  him — It  certainly 
would  now  give  me  more  comfort,  if  he  had  been  unequivocally  and 
eminently  pious,  than  I  derive  from  all  the  brilliant  talents  and 
attainments,  by  which  he  was  unquestionably  distinguished. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  erect  a  monumental  stone,  by  the  side  of  that 
which  covers  his  mother's  grave,  and  to  inscribe  it  thus — 

Parental  affection 

Erected  this  Cenotaph, 

To  the  memory  of  a  much  beloved  son, 

Robert  Stockton  Green,.  Esq. 

Counsellor  at  law ; 

Who  died  suddenly 

At  Boston,  in  New-England, 

September  28th,  1813, 

In  the  27th  year  of  his  age. 

Distinguished 

By  amenity  of  temper, 

By  courtesy  and  elegance  of  manners, 

By  various  and  extensive  knowledge. 

By  professional  eminence  and  prospects. 

By  correct  moral   and  religious  principles, 

By  the  warm  attachment 

Of  a.n  extensive  and  honourable 

Acquaintance, — 

J^?  was  "  cut  down  like  a  flower  !'* 


NOTES.  419 


Vouthful  votary  of  Genius  and  Science, 
Be  taught  at  this  stone, 

That  SIMPLK  PIETY 

May  speedily  be  found 
The  most  valuables  gf  all  thy  possessions. 


THE  FAD. 


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PRtNTKO  IN  U.S  A. 


